Govt ‘might make a new offer’ to tutors

Press, 1 June 1978, Page 4

Govt ‘might make a new offer’ to tutors

The Government might reconsider its offer to techni-cal-institute tutors and come up with “something more substantial,” said the national president of the Association of Teachers in Technical Institutes (Mr D. B. McKenzie) yesterday. He was addressing about 160 Christchurch Technical Institute tutors at a twohour stop-work meeting called to discuss claims for better working conditions. Similar meetings are being held at all other technical institutes.

Mr McKenzie said that a hint of a new offer had come during a telephone conversation with the Minister of Education (Mr Gandar) on Tuesday evening. Mr Gandar had indicated that the Government was concerned that a moderate group such as the tutors should go to such lengths as stop-work meetings.

The Government so far had offered tutors 12 hours next year in relief from class duties to prepare lessons and to keep up with development in industry. It had offered an additional 12 hours for 1980 and a further 12 hours for 1981. This would give each tutor 18 minutes relief a week in the first year.

Tutors’ class-contact time now was an average of 916 hours a year. The Government’s offer would reduce this in three years to 880 hours. A working party representing the tutors’ association, the Department of Education, the Technical Institutes’ Association, and the State Services Commission had recommended an immediate reduction in classcontact time to 880 hours and a further cut to 800 hours in the ‘near future.” The Government had also offered a deputy principal

for grade I and grade II institutes which did not have one, the grade I appointments to take effect from 1980 and the grade II appointments from next year. The association was concerned that other recommendations by the working party on conditions of service had not been mentioned in the offer.

The meeting later went into committee. One tutor had moved that reporters be excluded before the meeting began but this was amended allowing them to remain until Mr McKenzie had spoken. The tutor left the meeting. Mr McKenzie said after the meeting that direct action had been discussed but declined to be specific. He was confident members realised that if direct action was taken it would be as a last resort.

Tutors had been trying since 1964 to get improved working conditions. During the meeting, classes at the institute were taken by part-time and relieving tutors who do not belong to the association.