Craig Marshall - University of Otago.

IPC is likely to have a very challenging few years as the fracture of Te Pūkenga leads to divided workforces and the risk of separate employment agreements, coupled with decreasing funding to universities and the pressure this will put on pay settlements. We will need to develop coordinated strategies for each sector that do all that we can to maintain our collective agreements while also recognising the unique characteristics of each site. For the next two years, TEU will face significant industrial challenges to maintain our terms and conditions and to improve wages and salaries.

I have considerable experience in industrial matters at the branch level, not only at TEU but at other organisations in which I have been involved. That includes the time of extensive strikes more than 20 years ago, negotiations with childcare workers that helped improve funding to this sector, and the recent strike action taken by TEU members a few years ago that led to a small increase in funding (subsequently removed by the current government), which many members will have been a part of. That experience has taught me the importance of identifying common ground where agreement can be reached and extending that to more contentious matters that lead to better conditions for TEU members and to the workforce overall.

One thing I would like to see is IPC providing more assistance to bargaining teams to help them develop their claims. That includes linking experienced negotiators with bargaining teams that are struggling with difficult employers to make the most of collective knowledge within TEU.

I have been a member of the TEU (it was AUS then) since 1994 when I was first appointed as a lecturer at the University of Otago. There was significant industrial unrest at that time as the current student fees were introduced, universities were encouraged to compete with each other, and what is now the ITP sector was thoroughly disrupted, and vocational training was underfunded. Then, as now, the whole sector was underfunded.

I have been involved in governance roles in TEU, including as a member of TEU Council since 2024. This includes several Council sub-committees, including financial review of TEU funding, in disputes resolution, and in changes in governance. I understand that the role of governance is to create the environment for the union to function and that it is not about telling people what they should do. Governance is about encouraging branches to develop plans that suit their circumstances, and to help with the resources that allow those plans to mature.

Our sector is very diverse. We have large sites and small. Universities and Polytechnics are well-defined, but sites such as Wānanga are often small but with high density. Universities face incremental cuts in funding, the disestablishment of Te Pūkenga has been chaotic and deeply damaging, and smaller sites tend to be overlooked. We are afflicted with an excess of managerialism and the failure of governing bodies to recognise that staff really are their institutions’ greatest asset.