Union members secure Living Wage win for AUT staff

Union members secure Living Wage win for AUT staff

Following successful strike action, members of the Tertiary Education Union (TEU) at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) have voted to accept an improved offer from the employer that will remove all pay rates below the Living Wage and boost pay by 3 per cent for all staff that are part of the AUT Collective Agreements.

The improved offer is the result of staff as part of the university community standing together to ensure people working at the University have salaries and conditions that reflect the time, energy and skill they put into their jobs – and the contribution they all make to making AUT a great place to study. It is testament to the power of people coming together through the TEU that from 1 May next year, staff covered by the collective agreements will receive the current Living Wage rate of $20.55 and a 3 per cent increase for all.

The employer’s revised offer was made towards the end of Living Wage week, during which TEU members handed AUT Vice-Chancellor Derek McCormack a petition signed by over 1,200 students, staff, and community members. Union members at AUT today voted to accept the officer, which also includes a one-year term and a 10 week union-only benefit – yet again demonstrating what the TEU can do when people working in institutions and across Aotearoa New Zealand come together to improve tertiary education for the benefit of us all.

Irena Brorens, the TEU’s lead advocate for AUT and national industrial officer, said:“This agreement is a win for all employees at AUT, and a win for students themselves, as many students are employed by the university and receiving these new pay rates will boost their living standards. Everyone involved in this strike action – from students who waited patiently for their marks, to families supporting them through exams, to union members coming together to improve the conditions of work at AUT – should feel proud of what we have achieved.”

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