New Zealand universities have expressed surprise after staff threatened strikes over the ¡°slow progress in?pay negotiations¡±.

Tertiary Education Union (TEU) members at?six of?the country¡¯s universities have held stop-work meetings in?which they resolved to?vote on?strike action. The union said its claims for a 6?per cent increase had been met with offers of 3?per cent or?less.

¡°Pay growth in the sector has been much slower than the rest of the Aotearoa [New Zealand] workforce, at a time when inflation has been at 30-year highs,¡± said TEU president Sandra Grey.

The union also wants its lowest paid members to receive at least the national living wage of NZ$27.80 (?13.11) an hour ¨C more than some university administrators, librarians, security staff and gardeners currently earn. ¡°Nobody in Aotearoa, let alone working at a university, should be paid less than what it costs to live,¡± Dr?Grey said.

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University leaders were nonplussed at the threat of strikes. ¡°From our perspective, the current negotiation process is continuing well,¡± said Victoria University of Wellington vice-chancellor Nic?Smith. ¡°All parties [are] working in good faith towards finding a?solution.¡±

The University of Otago said it was confident of reaching a ¡°fair and equitable¡± resolution. ¡°Our negotiations have been progressing quickly and efficiently,¡± said human resources director Kevin Seales. ¡°We have been holding regular and constructive meetings with the unions and are scheduled to meet again next week.¡±

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Lincoln University said there had been no ¡°undue delays¡± in bargaining. A spokeswoman said Lincoln had adopted the living wage as a ¡°minimum¡± in collective agreements in 2021, and pay increases since then had reflected ¡°general wage and salary trends in the wider labour market¡±.

Auckland, Canterbury and Massey universities also insisted that they were bargaining in good faith. ¡°We are working within the financial constraints faced by the entire tertiary sector,¡± a Massey spokeswoman said. Auckland said it was ¡°committed to rewarding our staff to the maximum extent we can, while also maintaining¡­financial sustainability at a time when the tertiary sector¡­is facing significant challenges¡±.

Meanwhile, Australia¡¯s National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) has accused Victoria University (VU) of ¡°locking out¡± members participating in ¡°limited¡± industrial action including a one-week ban on teaching delivery.

The NTEU said VU administrators had advised that they would refuse to accept any work from union members who participated in the ¡°protected¡± industrial action, precipitated by workloads of ¡°more than 50?hours a?week¡± and a?wait of ¡°nearly two years since the last enterprise agreement expired¡±.

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¡°Instead of engaging in constructive negotiations for fairer pay and workloads, VU has opted to punish staff exercising their legal right to take industrial action,¡± said Sarah Roberts, secretary of the NTEU¡¯s Victorian division.

A VU spokeswoman said negotiations had achieved ¡°in-principal agreement¡± on many clauses in a proposed agreement featuring new leave entitlements and a salary increase to complement a 4?per cent rise earlier this year. The union¡¯s ¡°unnecessary action¡­only delays the finalisation of a new agreement¡±, she said.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com