Staff turn up to protest 245 proposed job cuts at Massey

The public gallery was full at Massey’s governing council meetings. Photo / Warwick Smith, Stuff 

Staff took a stand against the job cuts with signs saying “we are worth it” at Massey’s governing council meeting. 

Vice chancellor Jan Thomas called for the voluntary redundancy of 245 staff earlier this month.  

Staff rallied against the job cuts on the 20th of July at the Manawatū Campus’ Refectory Building where Massey’s governing council were meeting. 

The cuts target as many as 100 jobs in the College of Sciences, 70 jobs in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, 35 in the College of Creative Arts, and 15 in the Business School. 

The cuts were a way of improving the university's financial position. Massey recorded an $8.8 million deficit in 2022 and this month announced a year-to-date operating deficit of $14.2m. 

Stuff reported four speakers addressed the council, one being politics professor Richard Shaw who said his department, the college of humanities and social sciences, could lose up to 40% of its 170 staff. 

He said the job of humanities and social sciences was to help people make sense of themselves, society, and major issues such as the climate crisis, racism, and political extremism. 

“On your watch as a council, Massey University will have made sure that Aotearoa is just a little less safe for those who are the target of racism, a little less safe for those who are the victim of misogyny, a little less socially cohesive, a little less capable of helping the taxpayer plan and prepare for an uncertain future.” 

“That is not a contribution that any of us wish to be associated with. Don’t let it happen. Please don’t let it happen.” 

Shaw said staff had carried the university through the years of Covid, but they had not been given the chance to discuss the restructures in person with vice chancellor Jan Thomas, they had only received digital communications. 

“In a Te Tiriti-led organisation, gathering in person to discuss the future of our place seems to be the respectful and appropriate thing to do.” 

Pro chancellor Ben Vanderkolk responded to protesting staff saying he understood the anxiety and stress.  

He said the council was doing its best to operate under the act and funding model it had. 

“We struggle, we work really hard as a council to try and maintain our social licence, and we try to build trust with Aotearoa as a university.” 

“From the council’s point of view, we meet every month, we confront underfunding, bad funding models, fundamental structural weaknesses.” 

He said what consultation had been done was in the eye of the beholder, and he asked the protesters to contribute to the consultation process. 

The Tertiary Education Union organiser at Massey, Ben Schmidt, said it was short sighted of Massey to continue down this path in spite of the government’s recent $128 million cash injection that was intended to stop cuts of this scale. 

In the College of Humanities and Social Sciences alone, the cuts target areas such as the School of People, Environment and Planning, the School of Humanities, Media and Creative Communication, and the Speech Language Therapy Programme within the Institute of Education.  

“With the loss of up to 245 jobs across the university, capacity and provision will be lost in these subjects that contribute enormously to the way our society functions,” said Schmidt. 

“It’s outrageous that cuts of this scale are taking place, but what makes matters even worse is the way they are being pushed through via policy changes and voluntary redundancy with no real engagement with the staff who will be expected to pick up the pieces after the dust settles.” 

The Tertiary Education Union called on the vice chancellor to stop the cuts and start talking with union members about better ways forward.