Northland Staff vote to strike for third day

Association of Staff in Tertiary Education
ASTE Te Hau Takitini o Aotearoa

Northland Polytechnic Staff vote to
strike for third day

Academic staff at Northland Polytechnic have voted at the strike meeting today to continue their strike tomorrow (Friday), making this their third day of ongoing action to settle their negotiations for a multi employer collective agreement with five other polytechnics and institutes of technology. “Staff are insulted that their employer has offered a 0% salary increase for this year. This is despite the union presenting alternatives that would minimise financial impacts on the polytechnic, whilst enabling staff to maintain relativity with others in the sector” Irena Brorens, National Industrial Officer for ASTE (the Association of Staff in Tertiary Education) said today. “The employer at Northland Polytechnic needs to come back to members with a sensible offer that reflects the major contribution staff have made to assist the polytechnic to remain viable after a difficult financial year” said Ms Brorens.

“Members at Northland Polytechnic have resolved to stand firm in their struggle to achieve a fair salary offer, and to ensure that the other issues relating to increased workloads are also addressed” said Ms Brorens.

Academic staff at the five other MECA polytechnics and institutes of technology are also continuing their action, after no response from their employers to yesterday’s action. Staff at Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki are also on strike today, with members at Unitec, Waikato Institute of Technology, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, and Whitireia Polytechnic due to take further action next week.

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