Farewell from over the Ditch

After three decades of leading unions, and dozens of trips across the Ditch, there is a lot to reflect on when it comes to unions, tertiary education, and trans-Tasman rivalries.

Retiring from union work does give me pause to reflect on all that I have been part of and the solidarity between our unions. What is clear is that the attacks on unions, universities, and anything to do with the public good are sadly global. It’s also clear that the answer to growing inequality and hardship both here and in your neck of the woods, is to strengthen unionism. There is no doubt that both NZTEU and NTEU have been fighting the good fight. There is the push for greater indigenous rights and the importance of getting our houses in order. For TEU this has meant the development of Te Koeke Tiriti, a framework for action based on our crucial tiriti relationship between Māori and tau iwi (nonMāori). And both our unions having a commitment to ensuring indigenous business comes first in all meetings. There have been the ongoing battles against privatisation and managerialism which have eaten away at TAFE and polytechnic provision, and put arbitrary measuring ahead of core university business of being the critic and conscience of society. In 2017 we managed to inspire 2,000 people to speak out against moves to give more public funding to for-profit companies. And in 2020 we have seen the renationalisation of vocational education with the creation of a single network where collaboration (not competition) is the order of the day. In terms of trans-Tasman rivalries, we are very happy to be leading the charge toward education which is accessible, inclusive, and provided no matter where you live. We weren’t so happy about being the first to go deep into smashing union rights in the 1990s. For a retiring National Secretary, the wounds created by the 1990 Employment Contracts Act will never be forgotten. Some unions just disappeared almost overnight. The rest of us were left reeling and having to fight rear guard actions. Sadly even the progressive governments who have been in power since have failed to really roll back the anti-union legislation. This reality makes it even more important for unions to speak up and stand up for workers’ rights as fundamental parts of a good society. It is with pride that I reflect on the amazing fight put up by workers together. The push against work rights legislation in Australia; taking to the streets to push for fair pay in NZ.

Then there’s the push against casualisation, an insidious creeping term and actions which put workers in dire positions. I see with pride the NTEU work in the SuperCasual space and in calling out universities for letting 60% of teaching work be driven to those in casualised work. It’s immensely important here in NZ to be part of a push to increase the work rights of contractors. The campaign led by the NZ Council of Trade Unions speaks volumes to the hundreds of workers in the tertiary education sector who have been deemed to be contractors when they are actually employees. Similarly we continue to fight as do you to ensure that those on short fixed term agreements are shifted into good, decent, permanent work. Three decades have also offered lots of moments fighting for equal rights for women, for the Rainbow community, and so many others.

As a recent participant in the QUTE conference, it was wonderful to be in such a vibrant and dynamic space. Rights for the LGBTIQ community have been hard fought for and need much more work. In New Zealand, TEU is proud to see our work on seeking greater inclusion and accessibility to tertiary education has included the development of a Tertiary Education Strategy that speaks volumes about tackling racism, sexism, homophobia, and more. It is important that we do more to make our unions and tertiary institutions better places to be for all. Unions certainly need to keep up their work on gender equity. It is so easy to lose what we have gained. During my 30 years with unions, I have often been one of only two female National Secretaries in NZ. That’s not good enough but will only change if we call it out.

There is so much more to say, after all three decades in just a few hundred words would be impossible. So instead I’ll leave saying thank you – thank you for the trans-Tasman rivalry and friendship; thank you for standing up and for standing with us. Crucial to surviving three decades of activism – great friends and comrades – and NTEU has certainly been that. ◆

Sharn Riggs, National Secretary of New Zealand Tertiary Education Union/Te HautuKahurangi o Aotearoa, 2010–2020

Image: Sharn Riggs on the way to Parliament to lobby for TEU members.