Gabe Gooding, National Assistant Secretary

Gabe Gooding National Assistant Secretary

As we all know, 2020 has been a year to remember and possibly one that we would all like to forget. It has been deeply disturbing and distressing for many members, and, as we approach the end of the year we face a sector that is being radically reshaped in ways that will continue to challenge us in the future. The pandemic has upended our lives and our work. This report is a reflection of the main work that I have done this year.

Work Health and Safety Our original plan to build capacity in work health and safety (WHS) through a staged process, like many other things, went out the window with COVID-19. Clearly our members now had urgent need for health and safety advice. I would like to sincerely thank the WHS Team who researched, wrote fact sheets for Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) and members, organised ongoing sessions for HSRs and helped with submissions. Campbell Smith (National Office), Alex Cousner (Queensland), and Corey Rabaut (Victoria) are all qualified, committed and enthusiastic comrades who have put in enormous work on WHS this year in addition to their other duties.

A predictable and heart-breaking consequence of the pandemic and the Federal Government’s failure to adequately support our sector has been the massive loss of jobs. Whether through appropriate consultation and restructure processes, or through a mass voluntary process, the loss of jobs is always a WHS issue that requires risk identification and specific consultation through the WHS mechanisms. There are strong powers in the various Acts and it is great to see some Branches starting to use WHS to force meaningful engagement. More importantly, looking at job losses through a WHS frame as well as an industrial one, gives us the best chance of mitigating the effects on the mental health of those who remain. We encourage members and Branches to continue to discuss the impact of redundancies, and over-work on our mental health. It is well past time that we accept that our employers are as responsible for risks to our psychological health as they are for risks to our physical health. Too many workers accept the proposition that if they suffer from excessive workrelated stress that it is their fault because they are ‘weak’ or ‘unable’ to cope. We would not accept the proposition that if a worker broke a leg falling into a pothole it was because their bones were too weak; we would expect the cause of the injury to be fixed. We must not accept pathologising the individual as a way of allowing our employers to avoid responsibility for working conditions that cause psychological harm. An enormous thank you to all those HSRs who have actively worked to protect their co-workers and who have participated in our sessions on WHS. You are the backbone of the WHS system, and for those who don’t have a HSR in their workplace, please consider becoming one, there is great

training and support and you can make a real difference. Fact sheets and information can be found www.nteu.org.au/whs and are being added to and updated regularly.

Wage Theft We started this year with a comprehensive submission to the Senate Inquiry on wage theft (that covered theft from members at universities and private providers). We observed that in universities being employed as a casual is almost a necessary precondition for wage theft. This was clearly an effective submission because it prompted vehement and vigorous denials from some Vice-Chancellors and the Australian Higher Education Industry Association. At last year’s National Council meeting we announced settlement of an underpayment issue at a private provider that resulted in around $2,000,000 being repaid to workers with many gaining greater job security. That was due to the excellent work by Serena O’Meley and the members who stepped up and organised their workplace. Our plan was to springboard from this work and apply it across the private provider sector. This was one of many projects that were put on hold for a while as we dealt with the impact of COVID-19 but we are now testing a new app for recording time taken by casual staff that will produce solid evidence and can be adapted for use in university Branches. NTEU has launched a major action in the Federal Court pursuing alleged underpayments to workers at JMC Academy who are purported to be ‘independent contractors’. This is important litigation that could put the brakes on sham contracting in the private providers. The University of Melbourne Branch engaged in a very successful campaign to address wage theft from casual academics and they should be congratulated for that long, dedicated, and often innovative campaign. But it was the comprehensive reporting by the ABC of wage theft across the country that really put the issue in the spotlight. In response to that coverage NTEU received close to 3000 submissions from employees seeking information about or reporting instances of wage theft. Branches are now working through those submissions (where we have contact details) and we expect to see outcomes within the next 6 months.

State of the University Survey, COVID-19 edition 2020 The State of the University survey is conducted every two years with consistent questions and was last held in 2019, well before the pandemic. We have circulated a special edition with some specific questions around the pandemic, the impact on university workers, the effectiveness of the response of managements, the Government and the Union, and some standard questions on attitudes to determine how the pandemic has altered (if it has) the attitudes of employees. A short preliminary report will be presented to the National Council meeting and a full report will be released later in the year or in early 2021.

Staff and comrades In an extraordinarily difficult year it has been an absolute privilege to work with the dedicated NTEU staff who really pulled out all stops to keep the Union running for our members. They have rapidly responded to significantly changed circumstances and have adapted and developed techniques to make sure that we are there when members need us. Thank you all. Thank you also to my fellow National Officers, Alison Barnes and Matthew McGowan. It’s been one hell of a year that I could not have survived without your friendship and support. Thanks also to the National Executive who have worked tirelessly throughout the year, and all those Branch Committees, delegates and members who have been so supportive in difficult times. Solidarity all. ◆

Images (this page): Chloe Gaul displaying the ‘recipe for wage theft’ at Melbourne University (Toby Cotton); Richard Hamilton (UNDA) #SaveHigherEd National Day of Action selfie, 21 May 2020; Social media graphics for the Fund Uni Fairly and Wage Theft campaigns.