Healing the scars of 2020

Matthew McGowan, General Secretary

We start 2021 facing a different world and a remarkably different context for the work of the Union.

In January 2020, the gig economy was largely taken for granted. Universities were, on the whole, financially robust. We worked from the office and our days were framed by the morning and afternoon peak hours. Fast forward twelve months and so many things have changed. The nature of work has changed for many in the community and may never return to what was considered normal.

Casualisation & precarity There is a significant community discussion about returning to office work, and the issue of casualisation and precarious work practices has dominated social and political debates. Casual work and its impact on individuals and communities, the economy and the nation, is at the core of the discussion about how we handled the pandemic, and how we recover.

The employment contract is a social as well as legal construct. The nature of employment regulation between an employer and an individual affects more than the two entities involved. The aggregate of our employment conditions impact on the functioning of the society we live in. The Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, has made many comments about the impact of insecure work on our economy. Mr Andrews claimed that 'insecure work is no good'. 'I think we’ve … seen a structural weakness in our economy that has been very graphically exposed,' he said. As two-thirds of university Enterprise Agreements expire this year, the Union will be looking to address this weeping sore in our economy. But we cannot assume an easy path. In their recent paper Does the COVID-19 emergency create an opportunity to reform the Australian University workforce?, Elizabeth Bare, Janet Beard, Ian Marshman and Teresa Tjia spell out their proscriptions for the future of work in our universities. Sadly, some elements of the paper are shockingly familiar, but others take the narrative to a further extreme.

The answer, apparently is to: create greater flexibility in our workforce; reduce redundancy pay; remove 'prescriptive academic workloads clauses'; and increase the use of fixed term employment.

These are not a prescription for valued and harmonious industrial environments, nor are they a prescription for healthy and safe work. Worse still, they propose a permanent embedding of casual employment in a 'career pathway' for casual academics. This would result in an entire academic career existing within precarious employment, from entry into academia as a level A academic to 'Casual Professor'.

However, there are genuine issues that we should discuss as a university community. It should be possible for the Union and the sector to discuss the future of work and the issues we face, as professional staff and academic staff enter new and different realities. It should be possible for us to sit down collectively and imagine the nature of work we face in the next decade and beyond, and to then talk about the path to getting there. The scars of 2020

But the problems are deep. Most significant is the lack of trust, which was on show in spades during 2020. Many current and now former staff suffer deep scars resulting from the way in which the cuts and job losses were handled. And when I say job losses, I mean careers destroyed, people and families left with no income, despair in those losing their livelihood, and those left behind to pick up the pieces. In the end, we will do what we must to improve working lives on campus. At each university the discussions about our bargaining agenda have already started. While many are still feeling the impact of job cuts, we have an opportunity to make our voices heard loud and clear.

At each university the discussions about our bargaining agenda have already started. While many are still feeling the impact of job cuts, we have an opportunity to make our voices heard loud and clear. Matthew McGowan, General Secretary

Staff have sacrificed and suffered through the pandemic to keep our institutions functioning and vibrant. Now they have a right to expect management to deal with the problems management has created. Problems such as excessive workloads, work intensification, casualisation and academic freedom.

These issues will dominate 2021 and beyond, and the future of the higher education system demands that we collectively stand up and demand better. ◆