Current disputes NTEU continues to raise disputes and fight on behalf of members and their interests.
Newcastle annual leave dispute In the August issue of Sentry, I reported on a dispute at the University of Newcastle regarding a direction for all staff to take annual leave over the Easter period. NTEU alleges that this direction was not consistent with the Enterprise Agreement. The matter did not settle at conciliation, and the dispute is now set to be arbitrated by the Fair Work Commission (FWC). We are asking the FWC to find in our favour and have all of the leave taken in reliance on management’s direction recredited to staff.
JCU variation Management at James Cook University (JCU) asked staff to vote on a variation to the Enterprise Agreement in response to the financial impact that COVID-19 will have on the University. The vote was successful by a very narrow majority. The deal was supposed to postpose a pay rise due this year until December 2021, but management drafted the variation in such a way that it does not provide for that pay rise – a good example of why it’s always im-
INDUSTRIAL
NEWS & CAMPAIGNS
Union win at Murdoch portant to have the NTEU involved in drafting Agreements! As the variation does not have the effect that management said it does – and that difference could have a negative financial impact on our members – the NTEU has no choice but to raise these issues with the FWC. We will argue that the poor drafting of the variation means that it cannot be approved, and that management will need to try again if they wish to change the current Agreement.
Griffith casual wage theft In the latest example of casuals having their work reclassified in order to pay them less, the Problem Based Learning Facilitators at Griffith University have had their pay rates redesignated from tutors to clinical facilitators, effecting a drastic drop in pay with no less work being required. After discussions with management were unsuccessful, this matter has been referred to the FWC for resolution. We are asking the FWC to find that the tutorial rate is the correct rate of pay for these members, and order that Griffith pay them accordingly.
A ballot seeking to vary the terms of the Enterprise Agreement at Murdoch was voted down with a massive No vote of 73%! The overwhelming successful rejection of Murdoch’s Senior Executive drive to attack staff pay and conditions tells the University that NTEU members are a united and powerful voice. The exorbitant salaries of senior executives are grotesque in the midst of a crisis where staff are being told that they must sacrifice their working conditions. Staff workloads were already at a breaking point and then management came after staff pay. Murdoch management refused to provide any transparency about their financial position stating that even the University Senate had not seen the financials and wouldn’t until October - after they had already attempted to vary the Enterprise Agreement. This was an outrageous attack on staff pay and conditions and just the latest since the Senior Executive terminated the Agreement in 2017.
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Campbell Smith, National Industrial Officer
vol. 1 no. 5
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nteu.org.au/sentry
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