University Salaries Body Announced

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30983, 12 February 1966, Page 1

University Salaries Body Announced

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, February 11.

The Government has approved a request by the universities for new machinery to review salary scales of academic staff.

Announcing this today, the Minister of Education (Mr

Kinsella) said a university salaries committee would be set up by the University Grants Committee.

It would be recognised by < the Government as the ad- : viser to the Government on : matters within its terms of reference. “The effect of the decision to establish the university i

salaries committee is that the salary scales of all university academic staff will now come under the review of a single body. “The salaries of vice-chan-cellors and professors will no

longer be matters for consideration by the Advisory Committee on Higher Salaries (the Price committee),” said the Minister. He was referring to the committee beaded by Mr J. B. Price. Short of Staff Mr Kinsella said the Government recognised that the New Zealand universities were short of staff and that they must be put in a position in which they could compete for staff in an international market. “Only if they can obtain staff will they be able to teach the very big numbers of students who are expected to enrol at the universities during the next 10 or 15 years,” he said. The Minister said in addition to holding regular salary reviews, the committee would be free to tender advice to the Government at any time on matters relating to the salaries of academic staff and other conditions of employment which it considered relevant.

He said Government approval for the establishment of the committee followed deputations to the Minister of Labour (Mr Shand) and the Minister of Education by universities and the Association of University Teachers. Committee of Eight

Membership of the committee will comprise: a chairman (who will be chairman of the University Grants Committee), four non-university members of the University Grants Committee, a lay member of the council of a university institution to be appointed by the university institutions, a non-voting member to be appointed by the Government, and a non-voting member to be appointed by the vice-chancellors’ committee.