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“NTEU members at universities in all six Australian states are participating in stoppages in support of their collective bargaining claims for manageable workloads, increased job security, a fair wages deal and other improvements to conditions that are expected to deliver quality education outcomes,” NTEU General Secretary Grahame McCulloch said today.

In separate ballots recently conducted, over 80 per cent of voting members supported industrial campaigns to secure new collective bargaining agreements. Today’s actions are in most cases the first stoppages in support of the bargaining claims after over 12 months of negotiations.

The 24 hour strike follows earlier industrial action throughout Victorian universities in May 2009, and recent strikes at the University of New England, Charles Sturt University and the University of Tasmania.  Members at the University of Canberra, the University of Technology Sydney and the University of Newcastle are about to commence ballots for protected industrial action in early October.

NTEU members have been negotiating a new collective agreement with each institution. The failure of managements to offer a fair deal, together with the recent stalling of negotiations, has resulted in these actions being taken.

“It is time for management to invest in quality education outcomes by ensuring improved staff:student ratios, more resources, improved conditions and a reduction in the casualisation of the sector through improved conditions and more secure jobs for casual staff,” Mr McCulloch said.

Planned industrial action at James Cook University has been cancelled after written confirmation of agreement to the Union’s major claims was provided late on Monday 14 September.

For all the latest news and updates on what’s happening at your institution, visit www.universitybargaining.com.au

More than ten thousand university professionals at five Victorian universities stopped work yesterday in support of their enterprise bargaining claim for improvements which will redress the deterioration in working conditions within the sector during recent years and enable quality education and research outcomes.

National Tertiary Education Union members at the five universities, University of Melbourne, Monash University, Deakin University, RMIT University and Swinburne University, together with members at Hawthorn Learning, took part in the 24 hr stoppage in support of their campaign for manageable workloads, increased job security, a fair wages deal and other improvements in conditions.

More than 1200 university professionals joined an NTEU protest rally in Melbourne’s city centre during the industrial action; the first stoppage in support of the bargaining claim after nearly 12 months of negotiations. 

NTEU Victorian Division Secretary, Matthew McGowan, told the rally: “University management seem to have taken to heart the lessons of the Howard Government… and staff don’t seem to matter any more.  Universities need to show respect to their staff.

“There are some significant issues that are damaging the sector.  Proper payment of casuals is about old-fashioned justice.  Some casuals are paid less than they would earn in a supermarket stacking shelves and we need to fix that now.  University management needs to settle on terms that are fair and reasonable and that will also ensure a quality education for students,” Mr McGowan said.

Professor Verity Burgmann, University of Melbourne, School of Political and Social Sciences, also addressed the rally and told those assembled: “I have been an academic for over three decades, I used to like my job but not the last few years. There has been a generally downward deterioration in our working conditions over these decades, at every level of the academic hierarchy, and it has now reached crisis point.”

Professor Burgmann said a number of major factors had impacted on working conditions including a significant increase in undergraduate, honours and postgraduate students; job losses among academic and support staff and increased administrative functions and reporting requirements. In addition, Professor Burgmann said there was a lack of consultation regarding major changes within universities and “staff don’t feel valued and respected”.

The NTEU Victorian Division has been negotiating for up to a year to reach a new collective agreement with each institution and the failure of management to offer a fair deal, together with the recent stalling of negotiations, has begun to impact significantly on staff morale.  

Key bargaining issues advocated by NTEU are:

• Manageable workloads
• Increased teaching and support resources
• Improved security and conditions for the most vulnerable employees, including casual and research staff
• Payment for student marking responsibilities for casual staff
• An annual wage rise of just over six per cent, during the next three years

“It is time for management to invest in quality education outcomes by ensuring improved staff:student ratios, more resources, improved conditions and a reduction in the casualisation of the sector through improved conditions and more secure jobs for casual staff,” Mr McGowan said.

For more information visit www.universitybargaining.com.au

For more information contact: Mandy Frostick, media relations, tel 0419 546 245

As part of the 2009 -10 Budget, Higher Education has been allocated an additional

Download NTEU’s briefing paper on the Budget here (access restricted to NTEU members)

Tonight’s Budget provided for a 2.5% increase in core learning and teaching grants and introduced more sustainable indexation for university grants.

Julia Gillard has high expectations of what universities can and should deliver – increasing the number of graduates, lifting the participation rates of disadvantaged students, improving student retention rates and providing a more engaging and supportive student educational experience.

The key initiatives announced by the Government include:

• Substantial increases in infrastructure funding ($3 billion)
• Phasing in full cost funding of research ($512 million)
• Revised indexation for university grants ($578 million)
• Initiatives to improve participation of disadvantaged students ($433 million)
• Structural adjustment funding ($402 million)
• Improved student income support
• Increased stipends for research students ($51.7 million)

Tonight’s Budget provides an increase in core teaching and learning grants and introduces more sustainable indexation for university grants for the first time.

“Universities will be better placed to provide a quality education for the next generation of highly skilled workers, a critical part of the nation building agenda. It means that the Australian economy will reap the rewards of increased investment in higher education,” NTEU National President, Dr Carolyn Allport, said tonight.

“Universities, staff and students have high expectations that this Government will deliver on its promises of an Education Revolution, and provide the necessary resources to enable universities to reduce student:staff ratios and the reliance on casual teaching staff. While it will take some time to absorb all of the detail, this Budget is a significant step in the right direction,” Dr Allport said.

“NTEU is disappointed that the Budget failed to provide any specific funding aimed at addressing the workforce development issues being confronted by our universities as a consequence of their ageing academic workforce. Human capital is as important as infrastructure in sustaining universities over the long term. We trust that the Government will seriously address these pressing issues in the near future.”

For more information or comment please contact:

Dr Carolyn Allport, NTEU National President, 0419 349 064

Paul Kniest, Policy and Research Coordinator, 0418 170 622

NTEU will assess the Government’s Budget response for universities based on the extent of increased public investment in key priority areas.

These include:

·        Fully funding the cost of publicly supported research;

·        Increasing the real level of funding per Government-supported student and maintaining this through a revised indexation formula;

·        Redressing social disadvantage, especially amongst Indigenous students;

·        Establishing a new Workforce Development Fund that encourages the employment of early career academics and reduces the over-reliance on casual teaching staff.

“The Government has created high expectations amongst students and staff that it will deliver the necessary increases in public investment and policy reforms to enhance the capacity of our universities to continue to deliver high quality and internationally competitive education and research,”  Dr Carolyn Allport, NTEU National President, said today.

“We recognise that the Government is in a difficult budgetary situation. However, a substantial investment in higher education now will mean Australia is well placed in an economic recovery, with a highly skilled labour force and a strong research and innovation capability necessary to sustain our future.”

Dr Allport said that universities are being forced to rely on international student fee income and core teaching and learning grants to support world class research, because of the failure of government grants to fully meet the cost of competitively funded research projects.   

“NTEU strongly supports the vision outlined by Minister Gillard in her response to the Bradley Review at the Universities Australia Conference in March, where she emphasised the need to ‘engage and retain students by supporting teaching quality and enhancing the student experience.’  This will require reducing student:staff ratios, which can only be achieved by increasing the level of real funding per student.”  (See attached Chart.)

“Redressing social disadvantage, and especially closing the participation gap for Indigenous students, will require a variety of institutional and national responses. We support calls for increased funding to enable universities to employ more Indigenous staff and develop initiatives that address the needs and aspirations of  their local communities. NTEU also believes there is a strong case for developing a National Flagship program of mentoring and supporting Indigenous students while they are still in high school,” Dr Allport said.

“The significant role played by regional universities in redressing social disadvantage also needs to be recognised, with improved and better targeted resources.”

“Finally, it is essential that working at an Australian university is an attractive career option. NTEU’s proposed Workforce Development Fund is designed to enable universities to attract and retain the necessary high quality staff.”         

For more information or comment contact:

Dr Carolyn Allport, NTEU National President: 0419 349 064

Paul Kniest, Policy and Research Coordinator: 0418 170 622 , pkniest@nteu.org.au

NTEU notes that the framework encompasses the Union’s key bargaining objectives including restoration of the 2003 pre-HEWRRs employment standards, an 18.3% wage increase over the life of the Agreement, a comprehensive Indigenous employment strategy, significant improvements to contract research staff conditions and satisfactory outcomes on the suite of casual staff claims.

National Executive notes the attachment to the Memorandum of Understanding and directs the National Industrial Unit staff to liaise with the Sydney University Branch President and relevant NSW Division Industrial staff with a view to ensuring that:

• Provisions for dispute resolution procedures, discipline and termination meet the required mandatory settlement standards.
• Provisions for academic casual marking unambiguously incorporate separate payment for all marking.
• Provisions to restore the HECE 2003 categories do not involve concessions on prohibition on renewal and removal of a 3 year limit as they apply to replacement staff and new organisational areas.

National Executive directs that the Union immediately publicise the broad outline of the Memorandum of Understanding to assist other Branches currently engaged in bargaining and/or protected industrial action ballots and subsequent industrial action.

National Executive also endorses the Memorandum of Understanding’s commitment to finalise a complete draft of the new Collective Agreement by close of business on Monday 18 May 2009, and resolves to meet later in that week to approve a final Agreement, subject to the requirements above.

DOWNLOAD PDF: Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Sydney and the University of Sydney NTEU Branch

DOWNLOAD PDF: Attachment A

“NTEU is pleased that Minister Gillard emphasised that the Government’s response to the Bradley recommendations would be driven by public interest principles, and would aim to lift the number of university graduates to 40% of 25-34 year olds by 2025,”  NTEU National President Dr Carolyn Allport said today.

“The decision to maintain the cap on HECS fees at existing levels and ruling out the possibility of our public universities charging domestic undergraduate students full fees will also be a relief to all Australians aspiring to study at university.”

“The cost incurred by regional universities in providing opportunities for disadvantaged students has also been acknowledged, with a commitment to review existing, highly arbitrary, regional loadings.”

“The decision to establish a truly independent single national regulator responsible for accreditation and quality assurance for higher education sector will be welcomed, so long as it does not increase red tape, and that academic freedom and institutional autonomy, two of the defining characteristics of our universities, are not compromised.”

“The Minister made it clear that much of the focus of the Government’s policy response is aimed at improving the student experience at our universities, and that in order to meet the participation targets she is expecting every university to lift student retention rates.”

“NTEU has some reservations about a move toward a full student demand-driven system of  government supported student places, but notes that this will be phased in between now and 2012 and that the allocation of funded places will be restricted to existing universities.” 

“In her speech the Minister is placing high expectations on our universities and university staff. To meet these expectations it will be essential that our universities have the resources to be able to deliver on these expectations.”

For further information and comment:

Dr Carolyn Allport, NTEU National President  0419 349 064  (before 1.30pm)

Paul Kniest, NTEU Policy & Research Unit Co-Ordinator   0418 170 622

“The University of Tasmania is the only university in the state, with multiple campuses in regional centres. This raises a unique set of challenges for the University to deal with,” Dr Allport said today.

“While it has the third highest participation rate for disadvantaged students of all Australian universities, it has the second lowest participation rate of 15 – 64 year-olds in higher education. It also receives the highest level of research funding of any Australian university outside of the research-intensive ‘Group of 8’ universities.”

Dr Allport said that while the Government’s fuller response to the Bradley and Cutler reviews would be announced in the May Budget, Ministers Gillard and Carr have now announced some of the policy parameters.

“NTEU is pleased that Minister Gillard emphasised that the Government’s response to the Bradley recommendations would be driven by public interest principles, and would aim to lift the number of university graduates to 40% of 25-34 year olds by 2025,”  Dr Allport said.

“The decision to maintain the cap on HECS fees at existing levels and ruling out the possibility of our public universities charging domestic undergraduate students full fees will also be a relief to all Australians aspiring to study at university.”

“The costs incurred by regional universities, including the University of Tasmania, in providing opportunities for disadvantaged students has also been acknowledged, with a commitment to review existing, highly arbitrary, regional loadings.”

Dr Allport added that “It is also very positive that Senator Carr has acknowledged the principle that the costs of university research should be fully funded; and notwithstanding the currently budgetary situation, he has committed to argue for this in Cabinet.”

Dr Allport will outline NTEU’s key priorities for the sector’s future at the public forums. These priorities were the focus of an intensive lobbying exercise with ALP politicians in Canberra two weeks ago. Please see attached briefing papers for further information.

Details of the Public Forums

Launceston

Wednesday 25 March 2009, 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm

Degrees Restaurant, Newnham Drive, Newnham

Speakers:

• Dr Carolyn Allport, NTEU National President
• Paul Barnett, Executive Director Planning and Development, University of Tasmania

Hobart

Thursday 26 March 2009, 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm

University Staff Club, University of Tasmania, Hobart

Speakers:

• Dr Carolyn Allport, NTEU National President
• Professor Gary O’Donovan, Acting Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students & Education), University of Tasmania

For further information:

Michael Evans, NTEU National Organiser, 0418 241 664

NTEU University of Tasmania Branch, 03 6226 7575