14 September 2006
AUS Condemns University Ban on Supermarket Petition
The Canterbury Branch of the Association of University Staff has condemned an order from university management to
remove an online petition supporting locked-out supermarket workers.
The petition was gathering names of university employees to add to a statement declaring that they would boycott all
Countdown, Woolworths, Fresh Choice, Supervalue and Foodtown supermarkets in protest against the management lock-out of
workers.
The AUS at Canterbury, who last week made a $1000 donation to the affected families, said that the petition gave people
at the university a practical way to contribute to the well-being of the wider community.
"The affected workers are among the lowest paid and most vulnerable members of our community and I know there is
overwhelming sympathy and support for them among my colleagues at the university", said Canterbury Branch President
David Small.
Dr Small also pointed out that all New Zealand universities have a statutory obligation to act as 'critic and conscience
of society' which was consistent with this sort of community-spirited action. He challenged university management to
cite a single example in the last year of a management initiative that was designed to fulfill that responsibility.
Dr Small said that freedom of expression, the open exchange of ideas and an engagement with the community were
fundamental to the health of a university and that these were being threatened by management acting like the 'thought
police'.
A version of the petition that is not web-based attracted 136 signatures from staff in its first hour.
ENDS