In their own words Statements to the Inquiry into Unlawful Underpayment

Witness 2

The problem started in 2020, when the University moved to the online learning. At the end of the year, I applied for conversion. Basically, I advised them of what I had done and the hours that I was paid on that basis or at that rate.

Basically, the Department Chair instructed the Unit Convener not to give me any classes in the current semester, in order to avoid my conversion. My belief is that maybe it is because I spoke up. I said: 'This is not the fair payment. I didn't get my fair payment for last year.' In my belief, mostly it is related to that. I have been doing these units for the last 5 years. The number of hours are all the same – more than 150 hours for each year, except last year. I am eligible for conversion. They dropped my hours from almost 200 hours to 62 hours in the first semester. I was contacted by the Unit Convener in the second semester in 2021 to do more than 50 hours, which would be enough for me to meet the minimum requirements for conversion. But they cancelled everything two days before the start of the semester.

I already lodged a formal complaint in the first semester through the Union. To the Union I said, 'I will be targeted for the upcoming semester.' Unfortunately, the University failed to investigate my allegation. When they cancelled my classes, I went to them again and they said: 'We didn't cancel your classes because we targeted you in order to avoid conversion. We want to save some money in teaching this class.'

That is wrong because the hours taken from me were given to the permanent staff and another sessional. So they just played around in order to avoid my employment. Senator Faruqi: So there was no money saved?

There was no money saved at all. I tried to talk with the Department Chair and the Dean at the time. I said 'I've been working for [the University] for the last 6 years.' Especially during COVID-19, we used to give more of our free time in order to support the students. We moved to online learning, but the students needed more help with online learning. It is not normal tuition we did through the pandemic, especially in 2020. But they don't care about all that.

Our feedback is good. We maintain this feedback. Especially in the last two or three years I have had more than nine out of 10 in student feedback. They don't look at this at all. They don't look at my work in the previous years. They just want to avoid my application. As a casual, I have no chance to stand in front of the University. They have lawyers. I went to the Fair Work Commission (FWC). They said, 'You can't represent yourself.' At the end they said, 'You need to submit your case in court form.' I do not have the knowledge to do this. I went to a lawyer and they said, 'We will charge you $20,000.' I can't afford to risk $20,000 to support my case. So I had to go to the FWC. Then, on my payment, which they had to pay me from 2020 (and they agreed at the beginning of the year to pay after I dropped the case) they gave me only $1,500 out of $6,000 and they said, 'This is your money and we will not give you any more.' ◆

David Harris

I've been teaching at Swinburne University for six years now – or just under six years. It's a job I am very passionate about with students that I'm very passionate about teaching.

A problem with the sector is that it relies on my goodwill and my love for teaching and my care for the students to do work that would be minimum requirements. The University itself doesn't pay me to meet those minimum requirements, so to speak. I'm supposed to give good feedback on an assignment. I'm supposed to give detailed understanding and focus to what a student is creating or making or if they're having out-of-hours issues or problems.

Over the last two years, I can say quite clearly that I have had tens of students come to me with mental health problems, with economic problems. A number of these are international students as well, who seek my guidance on how to help them navigate the bureaucracy of these universities as well as the day-today lives of a COVID student.

But this goes way beyond COVID as well. I'm underpaid in almost every aspect. The Catch 22 with this is, if I did my job according to the standard to which I'm paid at the University, I would be considered a pretty poor teacher. The University could then turn around to me and say, 'Well, you're not very good, your student feedback doesn't give you a very good recommendation, and therefore we can let you go.'

So it relies on me needing to prove to them constantly that I am good enough to be employed for another semester, and if I don't do that then I am technically working to their standard or to what I am being paid for but I have the risk of being let go.

Senator Faruqi: Despite casual staff being underpaid by thousands upon thousands of dollars, the University then sent debt collectors after you for three hundred and something dollars that you owed them?

Yes, that's correct. It was about $332.82. That number is burned into my brain. They attempted to contact me during the Christmas period with a single phone call. I am not employed at the University during holiday breaks; I am only employed during the semesters that I teach.

They tried to call me. They left a message. I tried to call them back and reached an answering machine. They said to look out for an email over the next couple of days. I then checked my emails over the next couple of days. No such email arrived, so I refused to continue working for them by checking my emails, because I'm not paid to do that when I'm not working for them.

I then started work again once I was contacted by my boss and received two emails. The date that I checked my emails, I believe, was 20 January, and I had received an email on 7 January and an email on 18 January. The first email, on the 7th, said that I had been overpaid by an administration error and that I needed to pay back, at my best convenience, by 30 January. It was very cordial and absolutely polite, I would suggest.

But the second email, which was on 18 January, was much sterner, saying that I had avoided their attempts at contact, which I hadn't, and also that they would be sending debt collectors after me and that might affect my credit score. I'm sure all of the Senators are aware that getting a house at the moment is a very difficult process. I'm trying to save up for a house, and credit is obviously an integral part of getting a loan.

I have been the sole breadwinner of my household, due to COVID, for a number of years, and the idea of a debt collector coming after me and potentially affecting my credit score is absolutely terrifying.

They had changed the dates. Not only had they changed the date from 30 January but they even reduced it by six days, saying that I had to contact the debt collectors, and not the University anymore, by 24 January, which left me kind of bereft. It felt as if I was just a number, not a person and not a teacher at an institution that really didn't care for me.

It really put a sour taste in my mouth, knowing how much unpaid labour I had done for them over the years and how little patience they had provided for me. ◆

David Harris