University staff vote on strike action

Tertiary Education Union - Te Hautū Kahurangi o Aotearoa
5 September 2016

University staff vote on strike action

The Tertiary Education Union members at the University of Auckland are being asked to decide whether to take strike action, after three months of negotiations have failed to see the employer table a pay offer.

TEU members at UoA want to see an end to an unpopular performance based pay system, where only around 9% of workers progress through the pay structure. They also want to make sure everyone working at the University earns a Living Wage.

But TEU Advocate Enzo Giodani says the most fundamental reason for the dispute is the University’s steadfast refusal to genuinely negotiate with union members.

“This employer constantly tells us that they are unable to talk to us about pay until after they set their budgets in October. By then it’s too late as important funding decisions have already been made.”

“Workers expect to be in the mix when money is being allocated by the university, not after the fact.”

Other universities around New Zealand have similar budget setting processes as the University of Auckland, but this is the only employer that leaves its workers out in the cold.

“All we want as workers is to negotiate a salary increase. We are not asking for anything outrageous here, just to be afforded the respect of a genuine negotiation,” Giordani says.

The strike ballot opened on Monday 5 September and will close on Friday 9 September.

ENDS