As many as 1,600 Te Hautū Kahurangi | Tertiary Education Union members at Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of Auckland will strike for four hours this Thursday, in frustration at their employer’s refusal to value staff.

Kaiwhakahaere | Organiser Nicole Wallace says members are frustrated with their employer’s refusal to meaningfully negotiate. “We have met with their negotiating team a whopping 29 times since July 3 last year, and in all that time they have barely budged over the course of these extremely prolonged discussions.”

“They refuse move an inch on our key claims - to pay all our members a minimum of a living wage, ensure non-academic staff have a fair and transparent pay progression system, and ensure all staff pay keeps pace with the rising cost of living.”

“Nobody in Aotearoa, let alone working at a university, should be paid less than what it costs to live, yet many valuable staff at University of Auckland are paid below the Living Wage. That’s unacceptable.”

In addition to striking, TEU members have taken to paid advertising to raise public and student awareness of what working at University of Auckland is really like. Large posters have appeared on the streets surrounding the City Campus, highlighting quotes from University of Auckland staff who responded to a survey conducted by pressure group We Are the University.

One staff member quoted on the poster says “The university demonstrates how little staff are valued by leadership.”

Another says “I feel like a second class citizen, unworthy of respect and a cost rather than an asset to the university.”

A third highlights how poorly paid some staff truly are: “Our work keeps the Library running, and it’s paid barely enough or not enough to live.”

The strike, the third at University of Auckland since September last year, will run from 10:30am until 2:30pm with members rallying together at the back of the Clock Tower for the first half hour.

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