Collective action gets results at University of Waikato.
July 3, 2024
Hau Taki Haere | Tertiary Update Vol 10, No 12
Te Hautū Kahurangi | Tertiary Education Union has reached a settlement with Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato | The University of Waikato, following prolonged collective agreement negotiations that culminated in a strike on Friday 24 May.
Kaiwhakahaere | Organiser Shane Vugler says, “the strike was very effective and directly led to movement from the employer.”
“The settlement includes a 3.75% pay increase backdated to the 1st of April, but the biggest achievement is bringing sessional assistants into coverage of the agreement with between eight and ten percent pay increases plus all other conditions and protections of the collective agreement. This has the potential to positively impact as many as 900 low-paid staff.”
“When you face unfairness and discrimination, you can look away or you can stand together and have your voice heard. That is what being a union member is really about and that is what our members did on the 24th of May.”
Also in this update:
- Local training matters!
- TEU farewells Shane Vugler
- Academic freedom conference – September 19 and 20, Online
- National committees
- Got an idea to make a difference?
Other Stories:
What needs to happen to get vocational education moving in the right direction? – RNZ
Axing of Pay Equity Taskforce will entrench inequities for working women – NZCTU
Te Pūkenga closure raises questions over loans – RNZ
Generative AI causing major rethink as universities try to ensure cheats don’t prosper – The Post