Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
A group of Victoria University of Wellington staff and students are demanding the university pay the living wage to all employees.
Victoria University students' association president Marcail Parkinson said about 100 people turned out to the university's council meeting on Monday to ask for more pay for cleaners, tutors, administrators and other support staff.
Parkinson said these workers were crucial to proper functioning of the university.
Tutor Tom Smith said his low pay and the the increasing cost of living left him feeling under-appreciated and undervalued.
National Living Wage Movement chair Rev Stephen King said universities such as VUW were anchor institutions and had a responsibility to ensure that their workers were paid enough to get by and live a decent life.
Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington director of people and capability Mark Daldorf said the university remained committed to working towards paying "its directly-employed staff at rates that are at least at the current living wage rate".
"We currently have 310 part time tutors/markers/sessional/teaching assistants out of a total of 856 who are paid ... below the current living wage of $26.
"These rates are contained within the current collective agreement with the Tertiary Education Union (TEU)."
The living wage was under discussion in collective bargaining with the union currently underway so university could not comment further, he said.
In the statement the university noted the majority of its tutors were part time and would not fit a definition of a living wage employee.