UCOL pay stalemate broken

ON THE STREETS: UCOL tutor in Early Childhood Education Maryann Corrigan smiles as cars toot at a staff protest on Masterton's Chapel St in April.PHOTO/ANDREW BONALLACK

A UCOL pay offer signals the end of an employment stalemate and industrial action that has dragged on for months.

Heather Warren, Tertiary Education Union (TEU) organiser, said yesterday the offer includes a 1.25 per cent rise over each of the next two years, an extra day of leave for general staff and a two year collective agreement to June 2016.

Unionised workers, including staff in Wairarapa, had mounted a range of industrial action including rallies, pickets, strikes and public forums.

The TEU represents more than 220 UCOL workers nationwide, Ms Warren said, including more than a dozen unionised workers at the Wairarapa UCOL campus in Masterton. "It's only a small campus with about 30 workers and half of them are unionised. UCOL have put out a real offer and it's a settlement we would recommend to members. It's an offer our members can do something with."

UCOL chief executive Paul McElroy on Monday joined the employment negotiations ahead of the pay rise offer being made, said TEU branch president Tina Smith.

"We were pleased that Mr McElroy joined us and listened. He also responded to many of the points we raised."

Union members will meet next week on each of the three polytechnic campuses in Palmerston North, Wanganui and Masterton to discuss both the offer and the process for ratification.