N.Z. UNIVERSITY SALARIES

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27839, 12 December 1955, Page 12

N.Z. UNIVERSITY SALARIES

MR ALGIE MEETS DEPUTATION

CABINET DISCUSSIONS ON INCREASES (New Zealand Preus Association) AUCKLAND. December 11. The Minister of Education (Mr R. M. Algie) said tonight that, in his view, the case for salary recommendations for university lecturers was as strong as that for the professors. He said he had told this to representatives of the University Teachers’ Association whom he met on Saturday morning. “There was nothing really secret about our discussion,” he said. “Its real purpose was that I should explain certain points in a recent statement of the Prime Minister (Mr Holland), and that I would indicate how far his remarks ,applied to university teachers as a whole.” The Minister said he told the deputation that, at its meeting last Monday, the Cabinet had agreed in principle to a number of salary recommendations submitted by a special committee of the Cabinet. The Cabinet had passed the matter back to the committee to try to work out the ’details implied in their recommendations. “I said it was my clear understanding that the salaries of professors were included within the scope of this decision,” Mr Algie said, “and I added that I accepted my share of responsibility for agreeing to have the case of the professors considered, not separately, but in company with the claims of senior officers of the Public Service. , “I also pointed out that it was my intention to urge—as I had already done—that the claims of the lecturers should be dealt with at the same time, because I had recognised all along that there was a strong similarity in their respective cases, and that in my view the case for the lecturers was as strong as that of the professors.” Mr Algie said he assured the deputation that the Cabinet was well aware of the need for an early decision.