The Association of University Staff (AUS) is calling on the Government to increase funding significantly to universities
after a report was released today showing that Massey academic staff are paid on average up to $11,000 less than their
counterparts in Australian universities.
The “Academic Salaries Taskforce Report”, undertaken jointly between Massey University, the AUS and the Association of
Staff in Tertiary Education (ASTE), benchmarked Massey academic staff salaries to those of academics in comparable
Australian universities.
The report concluded that Massey lecturers are paid, on average, $5000 less than their Australian counterparts, senior
lecturers $11,000 less and associate professors $6000 less. It also shows that Australian university staff have
significantly better superannuation provisions than and superior employment benefits to those provided in New Zealand.
Speaking on behalf of the combined unions, AUS Industrial Officer, Jeff Rowe, said the report highlighted the need for
the Government to increase its levels of funding substantially for universities. “If we want a first-rate, high-quality
university system, we need to be able to pay salaries that are competitive with Australia. Current funding levels do not
allow us to do that.”
Mr Rowe said that the report confirmed what Massey academic staff have known for a long time, that they are grossly
underpaid compared to their Australian counterparts. He said that problems associated with salary levels are not
isolated to Massey, but are evident across the entire New Zealand university sector. “The staff unions are currently
working with the universities to put a case to the Government for better levels of funding linked to salaries. This
report strongly supports that case.”
“The responsibility for ensuring that New Zealand has a high-quality university system rests with government,” said Mr
Rowe. “This report shows that it must meet that responsibility urgently and fund universities at a level which allows
them to recruit and retain staff of the highest academic calibre.”
The report and recommendations of the Taskforce can be found on the AUS website: www.aus.ac.nz
Also in Tertiary Update this week
1. Waikato fees rise in face of opposition
2. Golden handshake for former Lincoln boss
3. Tertiary e-Learning projects underway
4. Nottingham feels impact of boycott
5. Election victory a sign of further reform
Waikato fees rise in face of opposition
The Waikato University Council voted yesterday to increase student tuition fees by between 3.39 and 3.48 percent for
next year. The Council supported a recommendation from the University’s Finance Committee to increase the fees after
Chief Operating Officer, Geoff Balme, told it that the University needed to increase fees “simply” to keep its income
rising at the same pace as its costs, and to generate surpluses required to fund expenditure “that will enable the
University to develop”.
Yesterday’s Council meeting was adjourned several times because of repeated interjections from students, with their
President Sandy Pushpamangalam, saying that the decision was short-sighted and failed to take into account the terrible
consequences of more student debt. During one adjournment the students held their own “Council” meeting at which it was
unanimously decided to abolish student fees and introduce free education for all New Zealanders.
Waikato’s decision to increase fees came despite a call from the AUS, earlier in the week, for those universities which
had not yet set fees to follow Massey University’s lead. Last week, its Council voted by seven votes to six, to reject
recommendations by University management to increase tuition fees by 5 percent.
AUS General Secretary Helen Kelly said that increasing student fees would add to existing student debt, which had
already reached an intolerable level, or would further limit the participation of students in university education. She
said that further public investment was needed in the university sector, and this was well illustrated by a claim by
Waikato University that it needs an additional $4.5 million next year to keep pace with rising costs.
“Rather than increasing fees, universities need to pressure government to increase funding to meet these costs,” said Ms
Kelly. “Placing more debt on students will not solve the long-term problem of underfunding.”
Government funding of universities per student has declined by 21 percent in real (inflation-adjusted) terms over the
decade to 2002, and New Zealand's public investment in tertiary education is now lower than the average for other OECD
countries as a proportion of GDP. It is significantly lower than in Australia and the United States.
“It is clear that the Government needs to boost funding rather than leaving tertiary institutions to increase student
tuition fees,” said Ms Kelly. “Fees must be kept as low as possible but in order for that to happen, funding needs to be
seriously addressed. The Government can well afford this with a $7 billion budget surplus, and the spending would fit in
well with its economic and social strategies.”
Auckland, Canterbury, Lincoln and Otago Universities and the Auckland University of Technology are due to set their 2005
fees over the next two months.
Golden handshake for former Lincoln boss
Former Vice-Chancellor Frank Wood received between $340,000 and $349,000 in remuneration payments from Lincoln
University between 1 January and 6 October last year, around $100,000 more than his remuneration package for the whole
of 2002. Details of the payout to Dr Wood were revealed yesterday in the release of the State Services Commission’s
Annual Report, which lists payments made to top public-sector personnel.
Much of Dr Wood’s payment is thought to have been a “golden handshake” following his sudden resignation from the
University last year citing ill health. His departure followed admission of a sexual relationship with an international
student and his lobbying the Government to get her residency.
The Press reports today that Dr Wood has defended the payment, saying he was entitled to it. “I simply got what I was
entitled to. It was all done properly,” he said. The University’s Chancellor, Margaret Austin, could not be contacted by
The Press, and current Vice-Chancellor Roger Field declined to comment.
Wood is understood to have been working recently on contract to Waikato University.
A full analysis of the remuneration packages for chief executives in the tertiary sector will be included in next week’s
Tertiary Update.
Tertiary e-Learning projects underway
The first of four projects funded by the Ministry of Education’s new Tertiary e-Learning Research Fund are now underway,
according to the Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary), Steve Maharey. The projects are focused on learners,
teaching, staff development and organisational issues.
Mr Maharey said that researchers have been asked to identify and analyse major trends affecting e-learning, and the
broader factors that might impact on future tertiary e-learning in New Zealand. “The Ministry of Education expects the
projects will help meet the tertiary sector’s need for robust, up-to-date research on e-learning in New Zealand,” he
said. “The four projects selected complement the research being supported by the Tertiary Education Commission’s
e-Learning Collaborative Development Fund. The collaboration being demonstrated by some of these projects suggests a
more positive move towards active partnership and cooperation among tertiary institutions.”
The projects, selected by a panel of tertiary sector e-learning experts, are: an investigation into factors that
influence New Zealand polytechnics/institutes of technology tutors’ uptake of e-learning; determination of New Zealand
tertiary institution e-learning capability; approaches and implications of e-learning adoption of academic staff
efficacy and working practice; and measuring the worth of e-learner support systems.
The four projects, with total funding of $300,000, will be completed by 30 April 2005. The Ministry of Education will
soon be calling for proposals for the second round of funding.
Worldwatch
Nottingham feels impact of boycott
An academic boycott of Nottingham University, now in its fourth week, is starting to bite, according to Britain’s
Association of University Teachers (AUT). The boycott is having what has been described as a discernable impact on the
University’s activities, with lectures being cancelled and delegates withdrawing from conferences. Conferences are also
being relocated away from Nottingham’s campus.
The boycott, or “greylisting”, has been called by the AUT because the University has refused to negotiate new salary
rates and grading arrangements in line with a national agreement reached earlier in the year. Instead, it wants to
introduce performance-based pay which would lead to reductions in career earnings of nearly £9,000 over six years for
some, and remove the entitlement to belong to the national university pension scheme for others.
AUS National President, Dr Bill Rosenberg has written to the AUT saying that attacks on conditions of employment are
unacceptable anywhere, and the attempted imposition of performance-pay as proposed by Nottingham management reflects an
approach which defies the collegial and collaborative culture of universities.
More than 3,000 people, including a number of New Zealand university staff, have signed an on-line petition supporting
the Nottingham campaign. It can be found at: www.aut.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=880
Election victory a sign of further reform
John Howard’s election victory in Australia has set the scene for further reforms in higher education, including
voluntary student unionism, performance-based pay and changes to weaken the power of education unions, according to The
Australian.
Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews held talks with vice-chancellors before the elections to discuss access to
funding specifically tied to industrial relations reform. Earlier, the Government had failed to secure Senate support to
introduce university funding tied to the introduction of Australian workplace agreements, the equivalent of New
Zealand’s individual employment contracts, into the sector, and to ban industrial action which delayed students’
examination results.
Unions, for their part, have already threatened to fight any proposals by the Government to revisit workplace relations
reforms in universities. The National Tertiary Education Union’s Senior Industrial Officer, Ken McAlpine, is reported as
saying that university staff are concerned about proposed legislation dealing with industrial action. “Obviously, if
[the Government] decides to pick a fight with the higher education sector, we are confident we will secure strong
support from our members. I think there will be a big fight over their attempt to link pay and promotion to student
evaluations. We think that’s extremely bad on educational grounds as well as industrial and professional grounds.”
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AUS Tertiary Update is compiled weekly on Thursdays and distributed freely to members of the Association of University
Staff and others. Back issues are available on the AUS website: www.aus.ac.nz . Direct enquires should be made to Marty
Braithwaite, AUS Communications Officer, email: marty.braithwaite@aus.ac.nz