Wānanga bias against independent union members

Wānanga bias against independent union members - TEU media release

TEU members at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa are dismayed that their employer is offering them less annual leave than both members of the wānanga's in-house union, TUIA, and kaimahi on individual agreements.

Kaimahi at the wānanga are entitled to the legal minimum of four weeks annual leave. But kaimahi who are members of TUIA, or on individual agreements and do not belong to a union, are entitled to a further three days of annual leave to use between Christmas and New Year, so long as they have 12 or fewer days annual leave accrued.

TEU Te Pou Tuarā, Lee Cooper, who is currently involved in negotiations for a new collective agreement, says TEU members feel that the wānanga is not being a fair employer and it is treating kaimahi differently because of their union membership.

"It seems just because TEU members choose to belong to an independent democratic union the employer at the wānanga is offering them three days fewer holidays than their peers. This simply isn’t fair."

In most tertiary education institutions five weeks, rather than four weeks leave, is the standard, so our members' claim is not excessive.

In a letter to TEU the wānanga has confirmed that it has made a deliberate choice to "maintain some differences in its collective agreements".

"Why would an employer decide that one group of kaimahi is allowed to spend more time with their whānau just because of which union they choose to belong to?" asked Mr Cooper.

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