Lecturers plan strike over busy workloads

Lecturers at the Manukau Institute of Technology are planning "short sharp lightning strikes" in protest at their workloads.

The lecturers say their workloads have been increased, and they yesterday gave notice of industrial action.

Tertiary Education Union organiser Chan Dixon said no decision had been made on what days and times the strikes would happen, but they were likely to begin today and last about a fortnight.

The strike mean students would arrive for classes and find their lecturer absent.

"Inevitably, it does put students out, but we're confident we've got really good student support," Ms Dixon said.

"The key issue is workload and, ultimately, the quality of education that students are getting here."

The overwhelming majority of union members at MIT had voted in favour of going on strike.

She said MIT had among the highest workloads of any polytechnic. s. The level had become unrealistic after some administrative staff were made redundant last year and with the increase in student numbers because of the economic climate.

Lecturers were also opposed to management proposals that could mean staff working more variable hours and "at more unsociable times".

MIT communications manager Zara Potts said the institute was trying to advise students of the impending action, while looking at how to mitigate its effects as much as possible.

Management was keen to resolve the issues behind the industrial dispute.

But in relation to more flexible hours, she said 70 per cent of MIT students studied part-time, so course timetables had to be worked around their employment.