Waikato Herald
  • Waikato Herald home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Locations

  • Hamilton
  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Matamata & Piako
  • Cambridge
  • Te Awamutu
  • Tokoroa & South Waikato
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Weather

  • Thames
  • Hamilton
  • Tokoroa
  • Taumarunui
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Waikato News

University of Waikato staff protest after salary negotiations breakdown

Maryana Garcia
By Maryana Garcia
Multimedia Journalist·Waikato Herald·
25 May, 2024 03:56 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

University of Waikato staff organised a strike during the institution's open day, demanding a 5 per cent pay rise. Photo / Maryana Garcia

University of Waikato staff organised a strike during the institution's open day, demanding a 5 per cent pay rise. Photo / Maryana Garcia

“How can you value students if you don’t value staff?”

These words, written on a cardboard sign, were among the many protest slogans that greeted hundreds of future tertiary students who visited the University of Waikato for its annual Open Day on Friday, as members of the Tertiary Education Union went on strike for a 5 per cent pay rise.

The 3.5-hour protest and strike was triggered by a breakdown in talks between the union and the university after eight months of negotiations.

Union organiser Shane Vugler said the process had “hit a wall.”

“The university has budgeted for a $24 million increase in revenue in 2024, of which only $4 million is allocated to salary improvement,” Vuglers said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“Since the budget was set, between $6m to $7m is being cut from personnel costs through restructuring, redundancy, enhanced retirement and a hiring freeze.”

As a result, Vuglers said, union members’ workloads have grown “exponentially”.

“Over the course of negotiations, [the union has] reduced our claim significantly, and it now sits at 5 per cent,” Vuglers said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“Meanwhile, after eight months at the table, the university has only increased their offer by 0.1 per cent.”

According to Vugler, the current offer to union members is a 2.85 per cent salary increase or 3.5 per cent if the union agrees to a delay.

University of Waikato staff organised a strike during the institution's open day, demanding a 5 per cent pay rise. Photo / Maryana Garcia
University of Waikato staff organised a strike during the institution's open day, demanding a 5 per cent pay rise. Photo / Maryana Garcia

“[The delayed increase] would deliver less money than the 2.85 per cent offer over the full term of the agreement,” Vugler said.

“Our 5 per cent claim fits within their $4 million budget for salary increases if they also agree to a three-month delay before they pass the increase on to non-members, who do not do any of the mahi or pay the union fees that enable us to negotiate.”

Discover more

New Zealand

Waikato students join nationwide protest calling for recognition of Palestinian state

24 May 05:59 AM
New Zealand

Restaurant owners who extorted staff, paid them less than $8 an hour, to pay $99K

25 May 10:00 PM
New Zealand

Mental health patient forced to sleep in conference room due to overcrowding

23 May 08:16 PM

Vugler said union members were “very angry”.

“They call on the Vice Chancellor to send his team back to the table with a mandate to increase their offer.”

At the protest, Vugler read an anonymised email to the crowd of over 100 staff attending the protest.

“My mortgage has doubled. My rates have gone up. My insurance is beyond comprehension. I can barely afford food. Most fortnights, I end up with a few dollars left in my bank,” the email said.

“None of us want to strike on Open Day but this is the only option we seem to be left with.”

The email was addressed to University of Waikato vice-cancellor Neil Quigley.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
University of Waikato health promotions coordinator and union branch co-president Dr Tāwhanga Nopera (Te Arawa, Tūwharetoa, Tainui, Ngāpuhi). Photo / Maryana Garcia
University of Waikato health promotions coordinator and union branch co-president Dr Tāwhanga Nopera (Te Arawa, Tūwharetoa, Tainui, Ngāpuhi). Photo / Maryana Garcia

University of Waikato health promotions coordinator and union branch co-president Dr Tāwhanga Nopera (Te Arawa, Tūwharetoa, Tainui, Ngāpuhi) said many staff were feeling uncertainty about the future and anxiety about what could happen next.

“What we’re really seeing is someone with power saying to people with no power, ‘I make the decisions’.”

Nopera said staff felt that they were not being heard despite a long negotiation process.

“Standing up is part of what people do in the political and democratic process of change,” Nopera said.

“Standing up and talking about the problems and being a collective, being whanau, that’s what matters here.”

The strike ran for 3.5 hours on Friday concluding with a rally outside the university’s Pā at 11.30am.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
A University of Waikato spokesperson told the Waikato Herald formal negotiations had “broken down”.
A University of Waikato spokesperson told the Waikato Herald formal negotiations had “broken down”.

A University of Waikato spokesperson told the Waikato Herald formal negotiations had “broken down”.

“We have made our best offer for staff given we are still anticipating a budget deficit this year,” the spokesperson said.

“We are focused on achieving financial sustainability with minimal impact on our staffing levels and our teaching, research and wider operations.”

The spokesperson said the university recognised and respected the rights of union members to strike.

“We note that a significant number of union members have indicated their support for Open Day and our recruitment initiatives by declining to join the strike.”

The spokesperson said the university was focused on minimising negative impacts of the strike on students and staff, in particular on Open Day.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Maryana Garcia is a Hamilton-based multimedia reporter covering breaking news in Waikato. She previously wrote for the Rotorua Daily Post and Bay of Plenty Times.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Waikato News

Waikato Herald

Nominations open for 2025 council elections

08 Jul 03:06 AM
Waikato Herald

Serious injury in SH29 crash, road closed in Waikato

08 Jul 02:20 AM
Waikato Herald

Non merci Hamilton: French snub stay in The Tron before All Blacks series finale

08 Jul 01:44 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Waikato News

Nominations open for 2025 council elections
Waikato Herald

Nominations open for 2025 council elections

08 Jul 03:06 AM

Wanting to become a mayor or councillor? Here is what to do.

Serious injury in SH29 crash, road closed in Waikato
Waikato Herald

Serious injury in SH29 crash, road closed in Waikato

08 Jul 02:20 AM
Non merci Hamilton: French snub stay in The Tron before All Blacks series finale
Waikato Herald

Non merci Hamilton: French snub stay in The Tron before All Blacks series finale

08 Jul 01:44 AM
End of an era: Kinleith workers mark closure
Waikato Herald

End of an era: Kinleith workers mark closure

07 Jul 11:46 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Waikato Herald e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Waikato Herald
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP