Motions carried at the NTEU University of Sydney Members’ Meeting Monday 14 September

1. That this meeting of NTEU Members:

• Endorses the report from the NTEU Bargaining Team;
• Notes the letters between the Vice-Chancellor and the NTEU Branch President of today committing that the negotiations for a new Enterprise Agreement are concluded and that there will be no new claims or amendments to the agreed Enterprise Agreement.

2. That this meeting of NTEU Members:

• calls of the planned twenty-four hour stoppage of work on Wednesday the 16th September

3. That this meeting of NTEU Members:

• Calls another members’ meeting for Wednesday 23rd September

4. That this meeting of NTEU Members:

• Sends a message of support to all NTEU members and Branches involved in industrial action on Wednesday 16th September
• Will organise a group of members to attend and support the UNSW NTEU Branch rally on Wednesday 16th September

Groundbreaking collective agreement reached, 24-hour strike called off

A 24-hour shut down of every campus of Sydney University tomorrow has been averted at the last minute, with agreement reached for a groundbreaking new collective workplace agreement.

The agreement will see NTEU members at Sydney University receive an 18.3% wage increase over the life of the agreement (two and a half years).

The National Tertiary Education Union has hailed the new agreement as a template for the industry, which will facilitate attracting the best academic and general staff in the country and put huge pressure on rival university UNSW.  University workers at UNSW and other tertiary institutions around NSW will still strike Wednesday.

The agreement will see restoration of employment standards lost in 2005 when the Howard Government legislated for industry specific restrictions on union activity and collective bargaining.

Other provisions in the agreement include a comprehensive indigenous employment strategy, significant improvements to contract research staff conditions, good outcomes on the suite of casual staff claims, strengthened reclassification processes for general staff and groundbreaking provision for casual marking for academic staff, incorporating separate payment for all marking.

NTEU Sydney University Branch President Michael Thomson said the agreement was a tribute to the determination of the staff at Sydney University.

“Twice our membership voted overwhelmingly for extensive industrial action, however in the end we broke through without it.”

NTEU NSW Branch Secretary Genevieve Kelly said that other metropolitan universities would now be at a significant competitive disadvantage compared to Sydney University.

“Management obstructionism at other universities, particularly UNSW, will mean these institutions will begin to suffer a ‘brain drain,’ as the best and brightest in the industry are over time inevitably drawn to working at Sydney Uni, where the pay and conditions are now demonstrably better.”

Media comment: Michael Thomson 0418 450 812 or Genevieve Kelly (NTEU State Secretary) 0424 465 839

Respect at work is a reasonable workload!