Unitec Students Fear Failure Due to Strikes
Unitec students could fail their courses as a result of persistent striking from Unitec staff.
Unitec members
of the Tertiary Education Union (TEU) have been striking
intermittently since September 16, hitting students in the
crucial exam period. Today marks the third day of strike
action at Unitec this month.
Student President of USU
Students’ Association Greg Powell said the USU Students’
Association at Unitec has fielded many complaints from
affected students who “fear their lecturers’ actions
will compromise their study and the results of their
courses.”
The TEU has rejected the recent
employers’ offer of a two percent salary increase with no
back-dating and an 18 month term from the date of signing.
Employers also want discretionary leave to be at their
discretion rather than the employees’ as it is for other
staff on individual contracts. The employers also want to
increase teaching days by ten percent.
The
discretionary leave for Unitec’s union members is
currently over-and-above what is offered to staff on
individual contracts. Under the current agreement the union
members potentially get four more weeks of holiday leave
totalling potentially nine weeks of annual leave plus two
weeks of professional development leave.
Mr Powell
said “striking and withdrawing education from students,
particularly during the exam preparation period, is
incredibly serious – causing a great deal of stress on
students, and to use it to ask for more holidays than the
rest of the staff at Unitec seems opportunistic.”
Union members have had the chance to strike during
the recent mid-semester break to target management in a way
which would not have had a direct affect on students.
Striking or picketing faculty academic committees,
academic board, council meetings, and strategic working
parties and striking their own research projects could have
been more effective, Mr Powell said.
He said he was
“disgusted that students are being used as the meat in the
sandwich.
“On the first day of strike action in
September they even picketed our graduation ceremony which
sought to ruin a very important day for students and their
families. It also displayed their deliberate intention to
involve students in an argument that should be kept between
the union and the employer.
“The Students’
Association has tried to get the issues resolved with
minimal effect on students. We have contacted the TEU
numerous times to request meetings so that we can inform our
students and the TEU have refused to meet with us.”
Mr Powell acknowledged that the salary increase is
minimal and said that the Students’ Association had some
sympathy for this. However, he believed this could have been
dealt with a lot better causing less disruption to students
and focusing the stress and frustration on the employer
instead.
“The Tertiary Education Union’s decision
not to communicate with us shows a lack of good faith,
particularly when other actions that would not affect
students do not appear to have been considered.”
It
is not known how long the industrial action will continue
for.
ENDS