Massey staff get the pay rise they went on strike for

Staff at Massey will see their pay increase by 6% over two years, as nine months of pay negotiations finished last Monday between Massey and the Teritary Education Union.  

Organiser Ben Schmidt tells Massive that members have fought long and hard to achieve this settlement, “It is because of that collective pressure and action by striking, protesting, talking, all of those things have delivered that settlement.” 

The university initially offered a pay increase of 1.5%, which Schimdt said would have been a pay cut in real terms, as the offer falls below the inflation rate (2.2%).

In contrast to other institutions like Victoria University, Massey does not officially have a living wage guarantee for all employees. 

While this was not achieved in this pay bargain, TEU did manage to wrangle a living wage allowance that would bring a yearly salary up to that level. 

Staff making below living wage will get a bonus allowance of up to $9000 per year.  

Schmit said, “That will ensure no member under the collective agreement gets less than the currently living wage rate ... that is a huge achievement.” 

The new collective agreement caters for academic staff, like tutors and lecturers, administrators, as well as custodial staff, like technicians and gardeners. The agreement now covers research assistants.  

In September, a staff strike took place against Massey for a 6% pay rise. Out of the four universities striking, Massey was the only one to deduct pay from striking staff. 

Staff went on strike on all Massey campuses late last year. Photo / Massive

This month, Massey announced a $3.7 million budget surplus for the 2024/25 year, far exceeding expectations.  

Schmidt said that the reported surplus comes on the backs of staff.  

“When the vice chancellor talks about unfilled vacancies, we have members who are struggling with workload pressures on them when other jobs are not being filled.” 

"Yes, we do need a fairer tertiary sector funding model. However, the university is not and was not broke.” 

A Massey University spokesperson said, “In addition to any standard increment employees may be eligible for, employees on the Collective or the Individual Employment Agreements will receive a 2.5% pay increase in 2025, and another 3.5% in 2026.”  

“The university has also addressed the salaries of lower paid employees.”  

“Through prudent management, the university ended 2024 with a surplus of $3.7 million, much better than the expected. This improvement came from careful spending and holding open job vacancies.”