NTEU breaks through at Sydney University
Groundbreaking collective agreement reached, 24-hour strike called off
A 24-hour shut down of every campus of Sydney University tomorrow has been averted at the last minute, with agreement reached for a groundbreaking new collective workplace agreement.
The agreement will see NTEU members at Sydney University receive an 18.3% wage increase over the life of the agreement (two and a half years).
The National Tertiary Education Union has hailed the new agreement as a template for the industry, which will facilitate attracting the best academic and general staff in the country and put huge pressure on rival university UNSW. University workers at UNSW and other tertiary institutions around NSW will still strike Wednesday.
The agreement will see restoration of employment standards lost in 2005 when the Howard Government legislated for industry specific restrictions on union activity and collective bargaining.
Other provisions in the agreement include a comprehensive indigenous employment strategy, significant improvements to contract research staff conditions, good outcomes on the suite of casual staff claims, strengthened reclassification processes for general staff and groundbreaking provision for casual marking for academic staff, incorporating separate payment for all marking.
NTEU Sydney University Branch President Michael Thomson said the agreement was a tribute to the determination of the staff at Sydney University.
“Twice our membership voted overwhelmingly for extensive industrial action, however in the end we broke through without it.”
NTEU NSW Branch Secretary Genevieve Kelly said that other metropolitan universities would now be at a significant competitive disadvantage compared to Sydney University.
“Management obstructionism at other universities, particularly UNSW, will mean these institutions will begin to suffer a ‘brain drain,’ as the best and brightest in the industry are over time inevitably drawn to working at Sydney Uni, where the pay and conditions are now demonstrably better.”
Media comment: Michael Thomson 0418 450 812 or Genevieve Kelly (NTEU State Secretary) 0424 465 839
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[ +2 ] I'm on 'soft money', working long hours to try and create some job security because being employed by grant money does not offer any job security. Yet I am faced with managing a large research team of 7 other academics (all on tenure), a grant of close to $700k, whilst trying to write publications, write more grant applications in an effort to gain more funding to keep myself employed, create ways to ensure my research has 'impact', and secure teaching to ensure I have the required experience to be eligible for applying for lecturing positions once my postdoc is up. It is overwhelming and most weeks I work seven days a week and take work home with me every night. All this to be paid at a Level A salary! I want to see serious changes made to contract research staff conditions and anyone who has a PhD should be paid at a minimum of Level B considering the workloads.
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