We Are The University

[TEU-academic] ] TEU update

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Fri Sep 29 2023 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Tēnā koutou katoa

Annual General Meeting. We had our branch AGM on Tuesday of this week, and we had a solid turnout, if fewer than at a strike rally. We now have a new BC, featuring a mix of incumbents and new faces. We look forward to formally welcoming Sione Ma’u (Mathematics) and Maribel Caballero (Business School) to the committee. We also have several vacancies remaining, including Co-President (Academic), and two Māori members as Te Uepū representatives (one Academic, one Professional). I opted not to stand because after almost three years I think it is time for a new voice. I am hopeful that one of our members will take on the role. (We will work through how to keep members regularly informed via the Update or a new version thereof.) I am happy to serve on the BC with a focus on building the membership. We thank those who are prepared to work for a union that works for them. We will seek to complete the branch committee roster in the next week or two, prior to its first formal meeting, and we will advise the membership once complete.

Meeting with HR. On Tuesday, the organisers, Nicole and Andy, Noel and I met with Stefanie Boyer and Kathryn Burson from HR. We were briefed by Mat Nuttall on the introduction of a replacement system for PeopleSoft (to be named Hono) which is being promoted as far better in all kinds of ways than the ageing PeopleSoft: more secure, more integrated, but requires more “self-service” supported by more instructional guidance. Many staff, our members included, are involved in preliminary assessment of the system and we will be relying on them to advise HR on how university work is different from corporate work (for which this system was originally developed), ask how this change is to be scheduled (given curriculum transformation, PBRF, et al), and to ensure that this does not compound workload demands for staff. If a workload audit or a pre-mortem has been done with Hono, we were not told.

We also notified HR that we aware of serious issues within the large research project that is Growing Up in New Zealand. (GUINZ is a longitudinal study designed to last well over 20 years, following New Zealanders from birth to adulthood. It is funded by the government on varying cycle lengths.) Recently the funding was renewed with new research objectives. In response to these new objectives and “contract deliverables”, we understand that the director took the decision to restructure the research team. The TEU is continuing to support members negatively affected by this process and will be raising individual challenges where members have been disadvantaged or dismissed because of the way the review was managed. We urge members with questions regarding this situation to contact our organiser, Andy Hipkiss (andy.hipkess@teu.ac.nz).

We also raised, yet again, our concern that the Staff Advisory Committee not met in several years although it seems to officially exist [https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about-us/about-the-university/the-university/governance-and-committees/committees/a-z-committees/staff-advisory-committee.html]. This committee heard of and discussed HR policies and plans, including Academic Standards, Promotion and Continuation policies, staff development policies and plans, staffing plans, etc. It also received data about promotions by demographic category: gender, ethnicity, etc. The committee included elected academic and professional staff, as well as TEU reps. We see a governance role for such a committee and wonder why it has been moribund for years.

We were barely able to raise it, but we wish to pursue with HR, in re-established quarterly meetings, issues that are mutually important to our members and to HR. There are many of them, not least of which are the troubling staff satisfaction survey results. If HR also considers them troubling and cares to listen to us as representatives of staff, we believe we can make a positive contribution to improving subsequent survey results.

Short guides to party policies on tertiary education. https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/25-09-2023/election-2023-the-tertiary-education-policies-in-two-minutes. See also https://policy.nz/2023/party-vote/policies/education. See also https://www.tertiaryinsight.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023-Election-Political-Parties-Policies-v1.pdf

Relatedly, a message to members (or others) who may be eligible to vote for the first time, from members who understand voting’s importance. Feel free to share. “As I’m sure you’ve seen, the general election is quickly approaching (the polls close on 14 October). For many of you, this will be the first election where you are old enough to vote. Although the process may seem overwhelming at first, we wanted to remind people that voting is actually really easy—even if it is your first time!

If you are having trouble deciding who to vote for, there are a number of online tools out there to help you compare between the parties. By answering just a few questions about your policy preferences, you can see which parties come closest to representing your views on many of the topical issues this election. But of course, there are many reasons why you may or may not vote for a given party or candidate.

Regardless of who you decide to vote for, make sure you have your voice heard this election—you can make a difference!”

READ ON FOR MORE INFORMATION

Voting for the FIRST time or in a DIFFERENT place?

How do I compare party policies and candidates?

These sites are useful starting points that help you compare across parties and candidates

Encourage others to vote

Check out the NZ electoral commission page for more voting information: https://vote.nz/

The demise of the neoliberal New Zealand university. TEU member Kate Hunter (History, VUW) on the Higher Education Death Spiral Sanctioned By Us All | Newsroomhttps://www.newsroom.co.nz/ideasroom/higher-education-death-spiral-sanctioned-by-us-all

HSB is no more. There is a new Social Sciences building. TEU member Selina Tusitala Marsh wrote and dedicated a poem: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2023/09/19/b201--by-selina-tusitala-marsh.html

“You can kill a book quicker by your silence than by a bad review.” In Defense of the Beleaguered Academic Book Review chronicle.com (may be paywalled)

Life as fixed-term adjunct: an American tale. The Academic Assembly Line (A Brief Personal History) - 3 Quarks Dailyhttps://3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2023/09/the-academic-assembly-line-a-brief-personal-history.html?fbclid=IwAR2dvLX9po3QWhM5D-ygW1SV6c0TsdCISj2-BLy_bBCi3zjf_pHabenflhM

Doctors’ strike called off, but they call out the austerity imposed on them by overpaid managers. Senior doctors call off strike, cardiologist takes aim at 'overpaid' health executives | Stuff.co.nzhttps://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/300979804/senior-doctors-call-off-strike-cardiologist-takes-aim-at-overpaid-health-executives

Reminders:

fraternally

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Barry Hughes, PhD School of Psychology

Phone: +64 9 923 5265 Extension: 85265

TEU Te Hautū Kahurangi, University of Auckland Branch Co-President (Academic). Join your unionhttps://teu.ac.nz/join!