We’ll do our thing no matter what.

By Te Pou Ahurei Takirua – Ahumahi | Assistant National Secretary – Industrial Irena Brörens

The government has changed, but our industrial priorities have not! It will always be our job to fight for fair pay increases and good terms and conditions of employment. 2024 is no different, other than the fact that it’s set to be our biggest yet!

90% of the collective employment agreements we negotiate are up for renewal this year. All eight universities will be in negotiations along with both of our wānanga agreements. We will also be renewing our Te Pūkenga kaimahi collective agreement which covers over 2,500 members.

Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds has made her intention to break up Te Pūkenga clear, but that doesn’t change our intention to maintain and enhance the collective power of a single collective employment agreement.

For the universities, in 2022 we saw the impact we can have when all eight universities act as one. It’s important for us to continue that momentum and build on it even further. The bigger the better! Over 8,000 university members taking action together and fighting for each other is always going to be more effective and impactful than individual branches going it alone. So please keep talking to each other and working together!

We are planning a lot of member engagement and consultation along the way, so make sure you participate and have your say. There will be a lot of decisions that will impact on you whether you are part of the conversation or not. We want to hear everyone’s voice loud and clear!

And of course, as always, we need recruitment. Now is the time to talk to your colleagues and ask them to join. The bigger we are, the stronger we are and the more we can achieve – not just for ourselves but the entire sector and Aotearoa as a whole.

Ngā piki, ngā heke.