Coronashock: Adapting universities to the worldwide pandemic

Image: Computer rendering of COVID-19 (CDC); University graduates (hxdbzxy/123rf)

When reports emerged in late December 2019 of a mysterious and unidentified new illness affecting people in the Chinese city of Wuhan, few people would have been prepared for the sudden and rapid spread that saw the disease declared a pandemic only three months later.

By Terri MacDonald NTEU Acting Director (Policy & Research)

The responsible pathogen was named ‘SARS-CoV-2’, and the disease it causes has been named ‘coronavirus disease 2019’ (abbreviated ‘COVID-19’). It is in the same family of virus as the well-known severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), both responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people in the past 17 years.

However, while COVID-19 is less deadly than SARS and MERS, it showed very quickly that it was far more virulent, with higher mortality overall. While the vast majority of people who contracted the illnesses had very mild to moderate symptoms (including none reported), the contagion’s rapid spread saw significant numbers affected severely, with deaths occurring in alarming numbers.

After seeing the impact of COVID-19 in Wuhan, governments and health authorities around the world took varying steps to implement with what they thought would be effective containment measures. In Australia, this included the ban on travellers from Wuhan, and then China more broadly. For most sectors in the Australian economy the effects of the travel bans were moderate, impacting most on tourism and some areas of trade and retail. However, the tertiary sector, and particularly higher education, were immediately hit hard, with universities haemorrhaging millions in international student fee income overnight. This is because Chinese students constitute a third of all international student numbers in Australia, with the bulk of numbers attending universities. The NTEU has long argued that the heavy reliance of universities on international fee income to subsidise domestic teaching and research is a risk to the sector. Yet this reliance, along with the heavy use of insecure employment, are what lubricates the wheels of the higher education machinery. The travel ban was introduced by the Australian government close to the time students who had been home over Christmas and new year would be looking to return to Australia, and indeed, many were caught unaware. Reports soon circulated of Chinese students who were detained by Border Force as the ban had been announced while their flights were in the air, those that were eventually allowed to stay had to undergo quarantine. In the weeks following, significant numbers of students were able to find their way to Australia (after spending two weeks in ‘isolation’ in a separate country outside of China), around 49%, or 92,000, of enrolled Chinese students remain offshore. As " The Union knows that many casual and sessional staff who still had work are now being expected to move seamlessly from face to face to online delivery, with little training or support.

painful as this was for universities, the travel ban soon extended to other

countries where the Coronavirus had

spread to – Italy, South Korea and Iran next in line, although by this time

the academic year had started, so the fallout was lessened to some extent.

The NTEU’s concerns over the impact of the travel bans were soon realised as reports started to flow in that teaching hours for casual and sessional academic staff were being cut or contracts cancelled altogether. We wrote to the Minister for Education, Dan Tehan, highlighting the vulnerability of the sector to the events we were seeing, and that again, the over reliance on international student fees by universities to pay for their core business of teaching and research (largely due to the decades of public funding cuts) was putting the sector at risk. We pointed to the impact this was having on casual and sessional staff in particular, and that at some institutions, staff who are insecurely employed do up to 70% of the teaching.

The Union reinforced this urgent message by travelling to Canberra to speak with MPs on behalf of university staff impacted already by the crisis – and yet while the Opposition and Greens listened to our message with concern, it was all business as usual for Government. Despite our repeated calls for a targeted rescue package, it was clear that the Government’s view was that the higher education sector would need to deal with the toll on its international student numbers largely on its own.

Yet fast forward only a few weeks to today and the situation is radically different. It has become clear that the Coronavirus is not contained and the epidemic is now a pandemic. At the time of writing, Australian cases are increasing exponentially. We are all learning about social isolation, working from home is the new fad, empty supermarket shelves are commonplace, and black markets specialising in hand sanitiser and toilet paper have sprung up overnight.

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The focus for universities has gone from concern over reduced international student numbers to what will happen if entire campuses are forced to close down – which has occurred in almost every other country where the pandemic has taken hold. For the most part, universities have been working to move as much of their course content to online delivery, a process which usually takes between 6 and 12 months of intensive preparation, resourcing, and training – but under the threat of university campus closures, most are trying to doing it within weeks.

Leaving aside that some courses are not suitable to transfer online (and the question of what will happen to staff and students should campuses close is unresolved), the workload intensification this has involved for staff is widespread and concerning. The Union knows that many casual and sessional staff who still had work are now being expected to move seamlessly from face to face to online delivery, with little training or support.

The reports we received from members were reinforced in the findings from the Union’s recent targeted phone survey of casual members which found that of the members who said they did not have work this semester, the majority stated that this was due to course cancellations or changes around Coronavirus. Of the casual members who did have work, most indicated that their courses would be delivered online, and that while this involved extra hours at the moment (which may or may not be paid), very few expressed that they were being adequately supported by the university in this process.

Anticipating that there may be campus closures regardless of the move to online teaching (and noting that there is a concern around health and safety for all staff, including those who are not in a position to work from home), the Union has also been pushing universities to guarantee paid leave for all staff members, including casual and sessional staff. We have been successful in securing guarantees from many universities to support all staff, including casual and sessional staff - although not all. Disappointingly, a handful of university managements have been obstinate in refusing to support their staff, with some like the University of the Sunshine Coast making it clear that staff impacted by Coronavirus must stay home and will not be paid if casual or sessional. This University has also told staff who opt to work from home that their wage will be pro-rata, based on the amount of their work they do from home. It seems that some university managements are intent on making staff choose between feeding their family or acting responsibly at what is a very serious and concerning time for all. " It seems that some university managements are intent on making staff choose between feeding their family or acting responsibly at what is a very serious and concerning time for all.

In terms of a national response, to date the Government has announced one stimulus package, and is about to shortly announce the second. However, the measures have primarily been aimed at business and concession card holders, with nothing thus far for higher education.

The Union is still pushing Government (as well as the universities) to respond to the needs of university staff and the sector, we also recognise that this crisis is rapidly snowballing and that workers - particularly those in insecure employment – are being left to drift in increasingly turbulent waters.

We are in the uncomfortable position of being left to rely on a Government whose announcements of untested measures take on increasingly desperate tones as they try to ‘flatten the curve’ of the epidemic, whilst at the same time watching the economic fallout gain momentum here and overseas. Right now, the NTEU’s priority is to ensure that the interests of our members – particularly those in insecure work – are not forgotten.

We have been, and will continue to be, strong advocates and provide the necessary support to our members affected by this crisis.