Volume 5, Number 2, August 2013
President Jack Speaks A summarised version of President Jack’s TEU statement to Academic Board regarding the Strategic Plan for the College of Arts: “Despite the stress of over a decade of downsizing lately accentuated by the intense episodes of financial turmoil of the earthquakes, the College of Arts remains the heart of our community. It is thus bittersweet to observe the development of the Strategic Plan. This Plan is born from the bitter premise that campus wide income has fallen below operational and depreciation expenses. Its sweet promise is to relieve the College of Arts for a period from what has been the annual withering of its ranks. The TEU does not rejoice in the inevitability of further loses of jobs that this Plan signals. Our membership does not embrace the loss of academic programmes and courses. It has been our role to ensure, however, that any process that might have this result is fair, transparent and in the best interests of the University as well as our members…
UC TEU President makes another compelling point to Opposition Leader David Shearer during a recent exchange of views at TEU House. Not long after David announced his resignation from the leadership.
…From our perspective, the process behind the development of the College of Arts’ Strategic Plan has been one of the best models to emulate despite its bittersweet goals. We encourage the University’s leadership to make note of how this process differs from past processes to secure the value of its lessons for setting future strategic goals…Bottom-up participation should be amplified as we move ahead with additional difficult decisions because these processes help preserve the dignity of staff and counter the unjustified sense that they are the cause of the financial problems we face. Moreover, that wisdom increases the chances that good decisions will be made. Our potentially adversely affected colleagues and Colleges have not failed this University, its students, the community or the nation. They have served well… Those who may leave us were no less successful than those of us who will stay; only the problems and visions are changed. That is both a thank you to the colleagues I may lose and a warning to my colleagues who will remain…”
Cleaners & General Staff TEU recognised the contribution General Staff make to the University’s successes with a well-attended BBQ at the Ilam Campus. Earlier in the month we had also taken the opportunity to recognise the often forgotten group of toilers on campus – our Cleaners and Cleaner Supervisors. With many starting at ungodly hours of the morning TEU decided that a 6.00am breakfast was most appropriate – for the cleaners at least! The Vice Chancellor had endorsed and supported the concept and also made the effort to ‘meet and greet’ employees he doesn’t often get the chance to see. A good turnout of some 80 cleaner members saw the sausages and bacon soon get cleaned up. Thanks to Gaby, Liz, Tim, Jack, Madison, and Benita for their support and contribution.
General Staff Day BBQ