We can’t do more with less.

The following is a transcript of a speech by TEU member Callie Vandewiele to our strike rally at Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of Auckland a fortnight ago.

Kia ora koutou!

I am really angry.

How many people here are professors or associate professors – give a shout?

How many people here are lecturers or senior lecturers – give a shout?

How many people here are PTFs or GTAs – give a shout?

How many people here are on precarious contracts and you don’t know how much money you are going to make this year – give a shout?

How many people here rely on those precarious workers to do our jobs – to build the reputation of this university that they are so proud to advertise about, the world rankings that they are so proud of, and that enables them to be so proud to go to the UN and say we can be a Chair on a ‘Committee for Decent Work’?

When they won’t pay the Living Wage, when they meet with our bargaining team 29 times, and they don’t care what we bring to the table, they don’t care about logical arguments or that we want to work together to build something that works for us as an institution.

But they are happy to take what we do more and more and more with less and less and less and less while they advance their careers, their reputation and take their pay rises that keep track with inflation.

This institution is teaching the future of Aotearoa. The kids are coming to this place, the research that comes out of this place, is the future that we deserve. We don’t deserve more for less. Our kids, our students don’t deserve more for less. The communities that rely on our research don’t deserve more for less.

They deserve a living wage, they deserve reasonable sized tutorials, which unfortunately we can’t bargain for, but I care a lot about. And they absolutely deserve to know that this society cares about them.

And it’s our job to help protect that, for that generation by saying no we can’t do more with less, we can do more when you value the staff that you have, particularly the student workers.

So, what do we want? Living wage! When do we want it? NOW.