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Massey University staff battling over wages and job cuts are furious the university’s vice chancellor has scored an 18 per cent pay rise.
Figures just out from the Public Service Commission show Jan Thomas now earns $586,000, but the university will not say why she deservesher hefty increase.
Staff at Massey are fighting for a cost of living pay increase to match the current rate of inflation of just over 7 per cent.
The university’s offering about 3 per cent and is also proposing to slash 72 non-academic jobs and substantially change other roles.
Tertiary Education Union national secretary Sandra Grey said members were not impressed with how that compared with the vice-chancellor’s huge salary hike, and the pay of senior managers throughout New Zealand.
She had seen commentary on social media about the low offers to university staff compared with the 18 per cent rise.
“Where’s the fairness in that? I would say that’s a pretty broad sentiment across the tertiary education sector.”
RNZ spoke to Massey students and staff at the university’s Palmerston North campus. Some were shocked to learn of Thomas’ 18 per cent rise, while others said it was a bad look given the pay dispute and proposed job losses.
Like many public sector bosses, Thomas took a pay cut last year.
The rise this year puts her above the $562,000 she took home in 2020.
RNZ asked Massey why she earned such a big increase given the staff upheaval and that Massey was $15 million in deficit in July, the most recent financial figures available.
Jan Thomas, vice-chancellor of Massey University has just received a big pay increase. Photo / File
A statement from the university provided no answer.
The university said updated financial figures would be available next month.
Grey said executives should earn decent salaries, but there must be limits.
“At what point do they reflect on the distance between the lowest paid on the campus? And we have some people in some of these institutions who are not even earning a living wage yet.”
RNZ has learned of some staff at Massey earning below the living wage of $23.65 an hour, although the university did not answer questions about how many were in that category.
The university said it was still considering feedback about the proposed job cuts for non-academic staff.
And it was not going to say what its latest offer is to tertiary union members.
“Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University remains committed to bargaining constructively and in good faith with the unions. While negotiations are continuing, we won’t be releasing further details about our offer,” its statement said.
Grey said while people might think university workers were well paid, many were struggling to make ends meet, and something had to give.
“The government, all universities and the Tertiary Education Union need to sit down and talk about the future of our sector because at the moment [it has] job cuts, poor pay rises, really really high senior salaries, and a whole lot of changes to the nature of jobs in the sector.
“This is a sector that needs a proper sit-down conversation about the future.”
The gap between the union’s wage claim and what was on offer remained too great, Grey said.
