University head under fire over staff contract snub

He has been in the job less than three months, but Auckland University Vice-Chancellor Stuart McCutcheon already faces a staff uprising.

The Association of University Staff is taking legal action against Mr McCutcheon after he failed to show up at a meeting to negotiate a national employment agreement.

Mr McCutcheon has angered the union by saying he will only negotiate a collective agreement at Auckland, not a national multi-employer agreement.

He has added fuel to the fire by offering non-union staff a 4.5 per cent pay rise.

The association has filed proceedings with the Employment Relations Authority, alleging that the vice-chancellor has "acted unlawfully and is actively undermining bargaining".

Association president Professor Nigel Haworth said the university had a legal obligation to meet the union branches once multi-employer bargaining had been initiated.

The university also had a statutory duty to deal with the union in good faith, and not to do anything to induce members not to be involved in bargaining or not to be covered by a collective agreement.

"In our view, the vice-chancellor's actions were a deliberate attempt to undermine and weaken the national bargaining process," Mr Haworth said.

The association has sought an order requiring Auckland University to participate in the national talks and declaring that Mr McCutcheon has acted unlawfully.

It has also asked for a ruling on the legality of the 4.5 per cent increase for non-union staff just as national bargaining was about to begin.

Mr McCutcheon, who took over as vice-chancellor in January, refused to comment on the legal action pending the Employment Relations Authority ruling.

But he said the salary offer to non-union employees and the collective bargaining process with the union branches were quite separate matters, "which we believe we have approached in good faith".

A national multi-employer agreement was inappropriate for universities in a competitive environment, said Mr McCutcheon. He had made this point in writing to the union.

"Entering into [multi-employer] negotiations when we believe [a national collective] would be inappropriate for the university would therefore be a sham and we believe it would be inconsistent with the requirements of good-faith bargaining."

Mr McCutcheon said he was happy to meet University of Auckland association staff for talks on a collective agreement.

Meanwhile, representatives of the other universities met union officials last week and have drafted a protocol for national bargaining.

The union is seeking a 30 per cent salary increase for academic staff and 16 per cent plus a national job evaluation scheme for general staff.

Formal negotiations are due to begin next month.