NorthTec union members striking on Friday. Photo / Enzo Giordani
NorthTec union members striking on Friday. Photo / Enzo Giordani
The chief executive of NorthTec says the polytech does not understand the objective of union members who are walking out on classes this week.
About 135 NorthTec tutors who are Tertiary Education Union (TEU) members will not be taking any classes todayor tomorrowin what is their third week of strike action after walking away from collective negotiations.
NorthTec chief executive Wayne Jackson said the polytech, along with most others in the country and private providers, was experiencing financial pressures from falling rolls due to increased employment.
He believed staff terms and conditions would be best settled in direct negotiations between the parties involved.
"The TEU has refused to continue to negotiate its claim and has walked away from the negotiating table to take industrial action. It has ignored our offer to formally mediate their claim. We do not understand their objective," Jackson said in a statement.
The union said members are looking for a 3 per cent pay increase, but Jackson said that figure is misleading.
He said that ignored the automatic salary increases given to many TEU members which, when added to the claim, would mean an increase in average tutor salary cost of more than 5 per cent over the 18-month claim period.
"This level of increase is not justifiable in the face of a rise of the average 2 per cent for salary and wage earners in 2019, as reported by Statistics New Zealand," he said.
NorthTec chief executive Wayne Jackson. Photo / John Stone
Jackson said NorthTec has offered tutors an additional $1000 (1.4 per cent) increase on the base scale, which, when added to the automatic increase, means that many tutors would receive, on average, close to a 4 per cent increase over the 18 months.
"NorthTec is always conscious of staff work pressures. The reduction in enrolments of 20 per cent in 2019 has resulted in a reduction in workloads with classroom hours now averaging 26 hours per week for full-time tutors," he said.
He said the NorthTec Council had committed to try to sustain tutor employment and the delivery of the range of courses across the region, from Auckland to Kaitaia, rather than job retrenchment and course reductions - this will mean a further financial loss this year, he said.
"We urge the TEU to place the welfare of staff and students as their priority and re-engage with NorthTec to reach an equitable settlement as soon as possible," he said
