20 July 2005

Govt must ensure extra Uni funding reaches staff: Greens

The Government must address the issue of university salaries or the quality of New Zealand academia will be seriously compromised, Green MP Nandor Tanczos says.

Nandor, the Greens' Tertiary Education Spokesperson, is making the call after speaking today to striking staff at Waikato University. The Hamilton rally, which followed a picket and march, was part of nationwide strike action by members of the Association of University Staff (AUS).

"University salaries are a significant issue for all staff, not just academics. It is time that the universities realised that it is people that make a great university, not grandiose buildings or flash marketing," he says.

"The Green Party supports the call by the AUS for a Multi-Employer Collective Agreement, or MECA, and believe that the Government has a role in facilitating it.

"There has been more money going into tertiary education generally and universities in particular under this Government. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have found its way to the staff."

ENDS

© Scoop Media