Fighting illegal piece-rates at La Trobe

In February, NTEU La Trobe launched a campaign to stamp out wage theft at the University.

In 2021, following sustained pressure from the NTEU’s La Trobe Branch and the Casuals Network, La Trobe University agreed to pay out over $3m in back pay, reflecting wages stolen from casual staff over a six-year period. The wage theft came in a number of different shapes and sizes, including failing to pay professional staff the minimum engagement period of three hours, failing to pay staff with a relevant PhD the correct PhD rate and incorrectly applying tutorial rates.

While these back payments were welcome, the University did not address the issue of underpayments in marking, and with evidence collected from our casual members of illegal piece rates, the Branch initiated an industrial dispute this January.

The key factor in the dispute is that the University has for many years systematically directed employees to claim a pre-determined piece rate for assessment/exam marking, often on a 'whole-of semester basis', in breach of the Enterprise Agreement.

While in theory, these directions are merely guidelines, the reality for casual staff engaged insecurely is that most would not feel confident in submitting a claim for the actual amount of time the marking has taken to complete.

Systems must be developed, in conjunction with casual staff and the NTEU, which ensure that staff are paid in accordance with their entitlements, and that the exploitation stops.

Is this Wage Theft or a simple mistake?

Section 6 (1) (b) of Victoria’s Wage Theft Act 2020 specifies that:

'An employer must not dishonestly… authorise or permit, expressly or impliedly, another person to withhold the whole or part of an employee entitlement owed by the employer to an employee and that other person does so.'

NTEU believes that an employer that continues to participate in a system that routinely underpays an employee is breaching the Act.

As members have discovered across the sector: if you look for wage theft, you probably will find it.

How can I join the campaign?

Casual members and the Branch are calling for casuals, current and former to join the campaign to stamp out wage theft at La Trobe University.

If you think you or someone you know might be owed money from marking underpayments, the Branch has a calculator where you can work out how much you might be owed over a six year period.

To make use of this calculator and to sign up for the campaign, please visit our campaign website. And please share widely with colleagues. Together we can fight for secure work and against wage theft. ◆

Simon Linskill, NTEU Industrial Organiser, La Trobe University

nteu.info/latrobeunderpayment