Photo: Screengrab / University of Waikato
Photo: 123RF
Staff at the University of Waikato will strike on Friday after eight months of pay negotiations stalled.
Tertiary Education Union (TEU) organiser Shane Vugler said the university was expecting a $24 million revenue increase this year, but only $4m has been allocated to pay rises.
"Since the budget was set, between $6 [million] to $7 million is being cut from their personnel costs through restructuring, redundancy, enhanced retirement and a hiring freeze," Vugler said.
At the same time staff workloads have increased, he said.
"As a result of these austerity measures, compounded by previous cuts and a significant increase in student numbers this year, our members' workloads have grown exponentially."
Staff were claiming a pay increase of five percent which TEU said was a significant reduction on what members first wanted.
"Meanwhile, after eight months at the table, the university has only increased their offer by 0.1 percent to an anaemic 2.85 percent (or 3.5 percent if we agree to a delayed increase which would deliver less money than the 2.85 percent offer over the full term of the agreement)," Vugler said.
Union members were rightly very angry, and were calling on the vice-chancellor to send his team back to the table with a mandate to increase their offer.
The strike will run from 9am to 12.30pm on Friday and will include a rally outside the Pā at 11.30am.