23 August 2011

Boycott of Auckland University Courses and Careers Day

Academic staff at the University of Auckland will boycott this Saturday's highly visible Courses and Careers Day
if their long running employment dispute with the university is not resolved.

Courses and Careers Day is a popular opportunity for prospective students to get their first look at the university and meet the academics who will guide their learning next year. It is a showpiece for the university according to TEU national president Dr Sandra Grey.

"Academics would normally give up their weekend to meet these new students and showcase the university to the community."

But, after nearly a year of asking their employer to leave their employment conditions alone and let them get on with their job, academics are now considering taking the unprecedented action of boycotting Courses and Careers Day.

"Auckland academics have, for nine months, made one very simple and reasonable request - to be able to keep their employment conditions the way they are and to get on with their job," said Dr Grey.

"For nine months, their employer has not listened, or compromised, while staff have suggested a myriad of reasonable alternatives to the university's proposal to remove key employment conditions from their collective agreement. Now they have no option but to increase their level of industrial action, starting with a boycott of Courses and Careers Day."

"The University of Auckland is rightly proud of the reputation its current staff built for it with their current employment conditions. It is unreasonable to take those conditions away for no reason," said Dr Grey.

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