TEU Elects First Polytechnic President

Media Release
Tertiary Education Union
11 September 2012

TEU Elects First Polytechnic President

Lesley Francey from the Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) will be the new president of the Tertiary Education Union next year, after the union’s members elected her in a ballot over the last fortnight. Lesley Francey beat the other candidate, Richard Draper, a senior lecturer from the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, by 1281 votes to 863.

Ms Francey, who campaigned on a platform of protecting tertiary education workers from on-going casualisation and restructuring, will take up the two-year post in January next year. She will succeed Sandra Grey, who will return to her academic work at Victoria University of Wellington.

Lesley Francey, a Scotswoman turned South Aucklander, is a senior lecturer in English at MIT. She says the biggest issue facing TEU members is preserving and protecting their conditions of employment.

“This, as well as restructuring and casualisation that impacts detrimentally on the lives and livelihoods of members, are major issues, and I want to make these industrial issues my priority as president of the TEU.”

ENDS

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