INSECURE WORK ◆
In their own words... A number of NTEU members have given evidence to the Senate Inquiry into Job Security. Without exception, their testimonies provided moving and effective judgements of the casualisation of the Australian higher education system. Here are some of their statements.
Dr James Stratford I began teaching at the University of Melbourne in 2000 as a 25 year old Masters student. By 2011, I had graduated with a PhD and two Masters degrees. Over those first years I taught 9 subjects, published regularly, won grants and built a wide network of professional and institutional relationships both in Australia and abroad. In the 10 years since, I’ve taught an additional 33 subjects in two different areas. Over this time, the cancer of casualisation has set in and we have also seen the emergence of a generation of academics like me – long term casuals on whom the universities rely. This reliance is born out by the sheer volume of work done. Last year for example, though casual, I was employed for an average of 39 hours a week spread across a 48 week year. The problem is that as a casual tutor there are only about 40 weeks at most, so the average was closer to 47.5 hours per week. This just underscores the fact that the University is utterly reliant on casuals, men and women like me – seasoned
professionals, masters of our craft and yet given the same recognition and rewards as those who are just starting their careers.
complain about our situation. This fear, as subtle as it is, is utterly corrosive to the quality of life, just as it is to the very heart of the University itself.
This really challenges the myth that casual work is short term, and done by young, highly mobile individuals who don’t bear significant responsibilities, it’s just a few hours here and there - that casuals like being casual.
And the gross power balance underscores one of the most harmful effects of this casualised system. It creates a two-tiered system, where casual staff aren’t even really acknowledged as proper staff, because no matter how much expertise one has, no matter how many years of service one has given, a casual is just a casual.
This myth may have once reflected reality but no longer. Rather than a short term period in which one might prove their merit, long term sequences of casual contracts have become a structural condition for the majority of workers. Work is typically only assured for one semester at a time, creating chronic instability that affects all aspects of personal and professional life. Often, it’s only a week or so before semester that employment is confirmed. One year I was actually asked to coordinate and lecture on a week-by-week subject. At the end of the academic year I face 3 months without work, at a cost of approximately $13,000 after tax. This is true even under the new periodic contracts. In effect, I pay for a European holiday without leaving home. And that home can be very hard to secure as a casual employee. I don’t mean buying a home – this is a remote fantasy as a casual worker. Even rental housing is hard to secure, further undermining the basic conditions needed to provide for my son and I. One of the most serious effects is that on mental health and wellbeing. Chronic insecurity breeds chronic anxiety. This constant insecurity also fosters a culture of fear. Indeed I was afraid to speak here today, especially knowing that senior management would be present – I was afraid that by speaking up I might be seen as a trouble maker. Given the precarious nature of our employment, I and I would say most of my colleagues, have always been afraid to speak up, afraid to
ADVOCATE VOL. 29 NO. 1 ◆ MARCH 2022
After 21 years as a casual you’ll understand my jubilation when late last year I was offered a permanent full time teaching role. The offer came out of the blue, so to speak. I joked with my manager that finally my mother could stop asking when I was going to be converted to permanent. It was one of the happiest days of my life. My son and I discussed what this meant for us. It meant that we could finally get our own home, that we could plan for holidays. We could live with a degree of security that we’ve never had. It was life-changing. Five days later I received a second phone call telling me the offer was off the table. It’s difficult to overemphasise how crushing this was. It was utterly humiliating. Like many casual academics I have accepted these costs because I love what I do and it’s my passion for teaching and the subjects I teach that makes me very good at what I do. The universities are as reliant on this, on the commitment that academics like me bring, and it’s this commitment that they continue to find new ways to exploit year after year. ◆ A week after he gave this statement , James was provided with a full reinstatement of his original contract, backdated to 1 Jan 2022. He had been a casual employee since 2000.
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