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Employment authority rejects Otago Uni's use of confirmation

TEU has just won a significant employment authority case that challenges the use of confirmation at Otago University.

The employment authority found yesterday that the University of Otago breached Dr Jane Millichamp's right to natural justice and its own duty of good faith when it failed to confirm her as a lecturer after ten years on a fixed-term employment agreement.

Dr Millichamp began as a Psychological Medicine lecturer at Otago University in 1998 but was subject to confirmation - an employment agreement where academics go on long-standing trial periods while the university assesses the academic's suitability for the position. TEU has long argued that confirmation is an unfair and illegal use of fixed-term-employment trial periods. Confirmation is currently only used at the universities of Auckland and Otago.

Dr Millichamp's department was in disarray during her confirmation period because, among other reasons, her head of department, Dr Colin Bouwer, murdered his wife. There were a number of workload pressures that meant her teaching load grew significantly. The university extended her confirmation period several times, until 2007, at which point the university chose not to confirm her because it did not believe she had published a sufficient quantity of research. Instead, it offered her the choice of dismissal or going from being a lecturer to a teaching only fellow.

Dr Millichamp appealed but the university rejected her appeal.

TEU then took a case for her through mediation and then to the Employment Authority. The authority finally heard her case in 2010, but the authority member who heard the case resided in Christchurch, and the files for the case were lost in one of the earthquakes.

The authority has recently retrieved its files and finally found in favour of Dr Millichamp. The authority found that the university failed to follow its own appeal process by referring her appeals back to the original review committee rather than a new independent appeals committee. Added to this, Dr Millichamp was not permitted to appear before the review committee to give evidence on her research and was not told about two people who gave evidence against her, nor was she given a chance to respond to their allegations.

TEU deputy secretary Nanette Cormack said the case is an important win for academics on fixed-term agreements.

"Confirmation is unfair - it is not fair to employ people on trial periods that can last up to a decade with no employment security. In addition, it is also unfair to decide people's futures and make judgements about them without first giving them a chance to tell their own story and respond to allegations that others have made."

Also in Tertiary Update this week:

1. Turia quiet in tertiary education role
2. Member's bill to extend paid parental leave welcomed
3. Lobbying bill could end secret tertiary education lobbying
4. Domestic students staying loyal to CPIT
5. Other news

Turia quiet in tertiary education role

Since she became associate minister for tertiary education, skills and employment four months ago, Māori Party co-leader Tariana Turia has not made any public statements, media releases or speeches relating to tertiary education. 

At the time of Ms Turia's appointment, the prime minister John Key said her delegated responsibilities in this portfolio would specifically relate to the employment area. Prior to her appointment TEU noted that the Māori Party's other MPs had significant practical experience and involvement in tertiary education prior to their election as MPs, and that the kāwanatanga policy that the party campaigned on during the election had significant implications for tertiary education.

For instance, the party's kāwanatanga policy proposes making education more accessible for all by introducing a fee reduction policy to reduce fees to a nominal level over time. It would also increase access to student allowances, by reintroducing a universal student allowance – which will be set at the level of the unemployment benefit.

Since signing its coalition agreement however the Māori Party has been a silent partner, at least publicly, on all issues relating to tertiary education while the minister Steven Joyce and his officials have proposed significant changes for the sector.

Paid parental leave bill likely to be vetoed

Last week working women and union members were welcoming news that Parliament would debate a member's bill to extend paid parental leave to six months. However yesterday afternoon the government's finance minister, Bill English, said the government would veto the bill even if it did get the support of a majority of MPs.

At this stage it seems likely that the bill may have the support of a majority of politicians, with support from Peter Dunne and the Māori Party as well as all the opposition MPs.

The government is allowed to veto a bill if is deemed to have more than a minor impact on government finances. It is required to do so at the third reading stage. So the bill, which belongs to the Labour Party's Sue Moroney, will be debated in the house three times and go before a select committee for public submissions, at which point the government may use its power of veto.

Paid parental leave is a particularly important employment right for TEU's new union members, many of whom are young and female.

CTU Women's Council Co-convenor Suzanne McNabb said the current 14 weeks of paid parental leave is too short.  "People are returning back to work early because of economic pressures and extending paid parental leave would certainly remove some of these pressures and allow parents time with their new-born baby in those crucial first months."

"New Zealand is currently lagging behind the OECD in paid parental leave entitlements – increasing it from 14 weeks to 26 would bring us into line with other OECD countries. The length of leave needs to be extended to at least to six months, which is the international recommendation on exclusive breast feeding."

Lobbying bill could end secret tertiary education lobbying

A lobbying disclosure bill that is to be debated by parliament could impact tertiary institutions that currently pay lobbying agencies to influence politicians.  Last year Tertiary Update revealed that private lobbying and consultancy company Saunders Unsworth lists among its past and present clients Massey University, Otago University, the six metro polytechnics, Victoria University of Wellington, and the Industry Training Federation.

Weltec was required at the time to disclose in its Annual Report that the metro polytechnics' fee to Saunders Unsworth ($33,000) because the institution's government appointed chairperson, Roger Sowry, is also a partner at Saunders Unsworth. Mr Sowry is also the government appointed chairperson at Whitireia polytechnic and a former National Party minister.

If passed, the new bill will set up a register of lobbyists and a lobbying code of ethics. It is modelled on a public disclosure regime used in Canada.

The register will require any paid lobbyists acting on behalf of a third party for the purposes of lobbying government or representatives to be on a register of lobbyists, and to comply with its provision. Failure to register would be an offence.

Returns of lobbying activity will be filed with the Auditor-General and will disclose who is undertaking lobbying activity, who is being lobbied and what they are being lobbied about. It will be an offence to engage in lobbying activity and to not file returns with the Auditor-General.

TEU national president Dr Sandra Grey says it is disturbing that large public tertiary education institutions currently spend tens of thousands of dollars of public money so that a private lobbyist can get them access to the minister of tertiary education.

"Changing the law to shine some light on who is engaging private lobbyists is important as it would show how tertiary institutions, among other publicly-funded institutions, are attempting to buy power and influence."

Domestic students staying loyal to CPIT

The Christchurch Press reports that CPIT and Lincoln both expect to have about the same number of  fulltime-equivalent students by the end of the year that they had in 2010.

Lincoln University had 802 domestic fulltime-equivalent students for semester one. It was the same number as last year and four more than in 2010.

CPIT chief executive Kay Giles told the Press the polytechnic had been able to restore its domestic numbers quickly because most of its students were from Canterbury, unlike other institutions, including universities, which relied more on students from outside the area.

"CPIT is about servicing this community, so we would expect for that reason to rebuild fairly quickly," said Ms Giles.

There is still some way to go to get to 2010's total of over 5000, but she believed the mid-year intake would ensure the target was met.

As of 20 March, 3,771 fulltime-equivalent students were enrolled at CPIT, compared with 3,401 at the same time last year and 4,066 in 2010.

However, international students at the two institutions remain significantly down on 2010 levels.

The polytechnic expects to face a $2.6 million drop in income from international-student fees this year, down from $9.9m in 2010 to $7.3m.

Despite this expected decline, the polytechnic was still budgeting for a surplus this year of $3.5m, Giles said.

Some CPIT courses had an increase in students, including quantity surveying, construction management, trades, civil services and architecture, reflecting the job market in Christchurch.

Other news

A student coalition has formed to oppose the cuts to University of Canterbury programmes. "You Are UC" condemns the consultation process, as university management has still failed to release to students the details of their proposed changes - You Are UC

The Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust has issued its spending priorities for the next three years. The trust distributes up to $3 million per year by way of grants from a $70 million investment fund, to encourage growth in the agri-business sector. Chairman Jeff Grant says three-quarters of that funding traditionally goes to Lincoln and Massey universities. But the bulk of the funding will now be directed to commercial ventures, focused on market access - Radio NZ

Since the 1970s, a radical shift has been occurring in higher education, as growing numbers of institutions turn to contingent (or adjunct) faculty to cut costs, while keeping pay as low as possible for the support staff who keep campuses running. Students suffer, as the number of available services are reduced, class sizes increase, and educators are less able to provide direct assistance and mentoring to the students they are there to teach. Now, employees in higher education are fighting back, and facing real challenges from administrations when they do - Salon

Tertiary education, science and innovation minister Steven Joyce today announced the appointment of three new convenors to the Marsden Fund Council. The new appointees are Dr Ian Ferguson, who will convene the Cellular, Molecular and Physiological Biology Panel; Professor Jari Kaipio, who will convene the Mathematical and Information Sciences Panel; and Professor Robert Hannah, as convenor of the Humanities Panel. The minister has also appointed Dr Grant Scobie for a second term as Convenor of the Economics and Human and Behavioural Sciences Panel - Hon Steven Joyce

An unholy alliance is slowly forming between traditionalist defenders of the university as an "ivory tower" and market-obsessed modernisers determined to transform higher education into a consumer good. Both have come to the – mistaken – conclusion that the idea of the public university must be abandoned. For very different reasons, of course - The Guardian

A Texas community college district's move toward standardised and electronic textbooks has raised the hackles of faculty members, who say the process threatens academic freedom and instructor autonomy because individual sections will be limited in their ability to have individual book requirements - Inside Higher Ed

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