Waikato staff protest cuts.

Hau Taki Haere | Tertiary Update Vol 28, No 03

Te Hautū Kahurangi | Tertiary Education Union members whose jobs are on the line in the Library and the Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences (ALPSS) tuned out in the rain on Monday to tell Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato | The University of Waikato’s academic board what they thought of their Vice Chancellor’s proposed cuts.

While the board met on one side of a glass wall, the crowd on the other side held up signs and chanted “Cutting staff is a choice, how about firing Steven Joyce?!”

‘Strategic advice’ from external consultants such as Capital GR and former Minister of Tertiary Education Steven Joyce has cost the university roughly the same amount as the current round of cuts are intended to save.”

On top of staff reductions in the Library and ALPSS, further cuts are expected to support services, education, and science in the coming weeks as the university seeks to cut $5 million out of its staff budgets to ‘balance its books’.

Kaiwhakahaere | Organiser Shane Vugler says, “the university is not following due process with the ALPSS restructure, it is cutting jobs without any academic justification and without any consideration of the impact on the quality and scope of the programmes we deliver to students.”

“We need academic and library staff to deliver to our current students, rather than a $400 million medical school, funded by the taxpayer, when we could produce far more doctors by expanding our existing medical schools.”

Also in this update:

• TEU congratulates Otago’s new Vice Chancellor
• TEU welcomes new staff
• Tiriti-based Futures

Other stories

Not enough funding to cover expected tertiary enrolment increase in 2026 - documents – RNZ

Massey University goes ahead with cuts despite opposition – Stuff

The problem with the Government’s proposed ‘free speech’ law for universities – The Post

Protect Te Aka Whai Ora – Action Station