“Wananga CEO $120,000 – Employees $0”
For the past 12 months ASTE (Association of Staff in Tertiary Education) has been in bargaining with Te Wananga o
Aotearoa to negotiate a new collective agreement that will improve the terms and conditions of members.
Members sought the assistance of their unions because of broken promises about pay rises, study time, and excessive work
hours over a considerable period of time.
“To reach the end of the bargaining process and be told the employer’s offer is 0% - that’s it, is an absolute insult to
employees,” said Phil Dodds Central Region Field Officer for the Association of Staff in Tertiary Education. “They
(members) have dedicated their lives to the success of the Wananga – going that extra mile and now to be told ‘staff
have been rewarded in other ways’ on the morning after the CEO accepts a $120,000 payout will be viewed by members with
absolute cynicism and anger – especially 10 days out from Christmas.”
Mr Dodds said that, “Union members have continued to take the flack from excessive media and political attention over
this same period of time; they have been the face of the Wananga with the community and have continued to believe in the
principles for which the organisation was founded but are flabbergasted that their employer has not fronted up with some
movement in wages and salary.”
Other similar publicly funded institutions continue to offer considerably more than this employer - despite similar
financial positions.
ENDS