Industrial action including strikes continues today at some of the six polytechnics covered by the ITP MECA. Union members resumed industrial action earlier this week after mediation between them and their employers failed to resolve the long-running dispute. 950 academic staff who are union members at NorthTec, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, Waikato Institute of Technology, Western Institute of Technology in Taranaki, Whitireia Polytechnic and Unitec have been in negotiations for nearly eight months. During that time there has been over a week of industrial action and also two days of mediation which was unsuccessful in resolving the dispute.

Tertiary Education Union co-advocate Chan Dixon says this week's action has strengthened members' resolve to continue to defend their conditions.

The employers' group says it remains hopeful of reaching an agreement despite another breakdown in negotiations and has issued a media statement urging union members to return to the table and avoid further disruption to students' examination preparations.

However Ms Dixon notes that when the union told the employers on Friday that members had voted to resume industrial action the union also said that the negotiating team was willing to return to negotiations as soon the employers had any change to their current position of seeking to reduce members' leave entitlements and increasing their workloads.

"The six polytechnics and institutes of technology are using the current environment as a pretext to try to take working conditions away from people," said Ms Dixon. "That is simply not acceptable, especially as students flood through the doors and fill classrooms across the sector Union members have removed all their claims from the negotiations apart from a modest and equitable salary claim. They are also seeking not to have their existing conditions cut.

"These people are academics and teachers who don't want to have to disrupt students' classes but feel they are left with little choice. They are prepared to undertake further action to prevent cuts to their working conditions," said Ms Dixon.

ALSO IN TERTIARY UPDATE THIS WEEK:

1. Wānanga executives take big pay rise 2. Fiji govt shouldn't stop Koroi speaking in NZ 3. Student caps shouldn't continue says Massey VC 4. PM's scientist: 'Let's make money of public science' 5. Britain plans to treat students as consumers

WĀNANGA EXECUTIVES TAKE BIG PAY RISE

The tumuaki at the three wananga all received significant increases in their total remuneration last year according to figures revealed in the State Services Commission's just released Annual Report. The increases align their pay more closely with their peers at other tertiary education institutions.

Mereana Selby, the tumuaki at Te Wānanga o Raukawa, saw her pay increase from under $100,000 in 2007 to over $160,000 in 2008. The tumuaki of te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiarangi saw his pay increase from a band of $110,000-$119,999 in 2007 to $180,000-$189,999 in 2008. The tumuaki of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa saw his total remuneration increase from a band of $250,000-259,999 to $290,000-$299,999. That is an increase of between 11 and 20 percent.

TEU national secretary Sharn Riggs says the figures add urgency to the need to treat other staff in wānanga and other tertiary institutions fairly.

"While some institutions appear to have shown restraint others have been offering very large increases to their chief executives and vice chancellors. But this shows that the State Services Commission is willing to offer its chief executives significantly larger percentage pay increases than it is willing to endorse for other staff."

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is about to enter collective employment agreement negotiations with TEU members on 12 and 13 November.

At some other tertiary institutions there were similarly large increases. The University of Auckland's vice-chancellor saw his pay band improve from $520,000-$529,999 to $560,000-$569,999. The University of Otago the vice-chancellor's pay improved by at least $60,000, and the two vice-chancellors that were employed at the University of Canterbury took home a combined total over $710,000 between them.

The Waikato Institute of Technology, already one of the highest paid chief executives at a polytechnic found his pay had improved by at least $30,000. Others to see large percentage pay rises included those in charge at the Manukau Institute of Technology, polytechnics at Christchurch and Whitireia, and the universities of Waikato and Victoria.

FIJI GOVT SHOULDN'T STOP KOROI SPEAKING IN NZ

Tevita Koroi, president of Fijian Teachers Association, is being unfairly victimised by the Fijian government says TEU president Tom Ryan.

Mr. Koroi has been officially informed by the Fijian Ministry of Education that he will no longer be accepted as the representative of the FTA at major institutional education forums.

The high level ministerial bodies include the Education Forum, the Fiji Teachers Registration Board, the Joint Consultative Committee, and the Staff Board.

On 30 April 2009, the Fiji Public Service Commission (PSC) terminated Mr. Koroi from his position as school principal. The PSC based its decision on a statement Mr. Koroi made in his capacity as trade union leader. Now, the Fijian Education Ministry is interfering further in the right of workers' organisations to nominate their representative.

The right of education organisations to elect their own representatives freely is an indispensable condition for them to be able to act in full freedom and to promote effectively the interests of their members and the people they teach.

Mr Koroi will be warmly welcomed as a guest speaker at the TEU Annual Conference in Wellington on 10 November.

Meanwhile a Fiji-born born Australian National University academic, Professor Brij Lal, has been taken into custody in Fiji, just hours after speaking to ABC Radio about the current diplomatic stoush.

Professor Lal was very critical of the Fiji government's latest actions in the interview.

The professor's family says he was escorted from his home in Suva on Wednesday afternoon by the military, the ABC reports.

Officers refused to provide the reason for his detention or where he was being taken. The family says the military is now refusing to confirm he is in custody.

Professor Lal is an Australian citizen and a leading academic and researcher on Fiji's political history. STUDENT CAPS SHOULDN'T CONTINUE SAYS MASSEY VC

The current policy of capping of student numbers in tertiary education institutions cannot last for much longer according to Massey University vice-chancellor Steve Maharey.

Mr Maharey told TV3's Sunrise show that the cause of the cap is essentially a lack of government spending and that his institution could 'certainly' take more students.

"Effectively it is the amount of money that is appropriated by the government for students to go to university, polytechnic, wānanga or whatever."

"We are moving into a time that is very different from the last few decades where if you were qualified you could get into a university. Now you may be qualified and therefore entitled to go but still may not be able to get yourself a place."

Mr Maharey noted that this meant that many young people and people wanting to improve their skills, knowledge or qualifications would miss out on the opportunity to do so, thus undermining New Zealand's productivity and skills base. That would be bad not just for the individual that missed out but for the country as a whole as it worked its way through the economic crisis.

"The problem is for the Minister of Education to say to the Minister of Finance that this cannot last for too long," concluded Mr Maharey.

PM'S SCIENTIST: 'LET'S MAKE MONEY OFF PUBLIC SCIENCE'

The Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor, Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, has released a report on improving the translation of publicly funded research for economic benefit. The report follows a workshop chaired by Sir Peter in September where he explored issues such as the public funding system of science, translating science to business, and incentives to encourage business to increase expenditure on research.

"A high proportion of New Zealand's research in science and technology is performed by the public sector," says Sir Peter. "We need to exploit this knowledge effectively to increase New Zealand's level of innovation and economic performance."

Sir Peter's report recommends developing measures to encourage staff in public research institutes like universities and polytechnics to engage with the commercialisation of their work. It also calls for the development of a range of funding mechanisms to encourage business investment in research and innovation.

Professor Sir David Skegg, who chairs the NZVCC's Research Committee, has welcomed the report, saying it suggests that greater weight should be given to building critical mass around key academic leaders.

BRITAIN PLANS TO TREAT STUDENTS AS CONSUMERS

British Minister of Education Lord Mandelson has unveiled a major plan for universities designed to aid the country's economic recovery and pave the way for an overhaul of student tuition fees. In the plan universities will be told they should treat students more like customers and become more responsive to the needs of businesses. It could lead to radical changes in how students take degrees, including more Open University-style, web-based degrees to allow students to work while they study, and schemes to encourage employers to pay towards the costs of degrees.

Every university will be asked to publish course-by-course graduate employment rates, along with details of the number of drop-outs and the amount of teaching time students get, to give applicants more information about what their fees are spent on. The food-labelling style system to tag each course is designed to give students more information, which has widely been interpreted as preparation for raising tuition fees.

Lord Mandelson said: "It's very important, and we shall say this today, that universities must give much fuller information about the type and quality of teaching and how much direct contact with teachers they will have and what outcomes there have been."

However General Secretary of the University and College Union, Sally Hunt has warned that the plan reduces students and staff to customer and cashier and risked losing sight of what universities are actually for and how higher education works. The union further warned that a student-centric assessment system could lead to grade inflation, but no improvements in standards.

"Universities are supposed to be about challenging perceived wisdom, not just ensuring a consumer is happy. The US experience shows that a quality regime based on student evaluations does nothing to raise academic standards but produces rampant grade inflation as institutions and staff compete to secure positive feedback," said Ms Hunt.

From Polly Curtis at the Guardian

APOLOGY

In last week's Tertiary Update we made a statement that Otago University and AUT are closing down for the week prior to Christmas. This statement is incorrect. Otago is not considering this and has already sent to staff its plans for Christmas 2009, which have not changed from previous years. AUT is closing down but this has been its standard practice now for many years. -----