By Lisa Macdonald
Members of the National Tertiary Education Industry Union (NTEU) held a 24-hour strike on October 14 which closed university campuses around the country. The strike was the first action in an industrial campaign to protect academics' job security and preserve the integrity of their award, in particular its provisions governing notice, redundancy and redeployment.
The vice chancellors' industrial organisation, AHEIA, has applied to the Industrial Relations Commission to vary the 1988 award to give VCs exclusive power to: investigate claims of misconduct (investigations are currently conducted by a committee with union and employer representation and an independent chairperson); remove employees' right of appeal and reduce the time an employee has in which to respond to an allegation from 30 to two days; allow academics to be suspended without pay during an investigation; and remove the right to peer review of dismissal decisions.
The variations being sought by the AHEIA also include removal of consideration of student numbers from the definition of redundancy. This change, by allowing staff to be declared redundant simply on the basis that the university decides a particular job no longer needs to be done, could increase overcrowding and further erode the quality and accessibility of public tertiary education.
According to the University of NSW Staff Association, a branch of the NTEU, many academics feel that the 1988 award already undermined tenure of academic staff to a much greater extent than was necessary. The further changes which are being proposed remove almost all remaining elements of academic tenure in Australian universities.
At most universities the staff picket lines were supported by students, who see the current attacks on academics' working conditions as directly linked to the more general attacks on public education by the ALP federal government over the past decade. These attacks include the introduction and increase of the Higher Education Contribution Scheme, full up-front fees for overseas and many postgraduate students, decreased funding per student and the continued erosion of Austudy.
At the University of Sydney, the academics were joined on the picket lines by many members of the general staff, on strike over the university's unwillingness to negotiate an award restructuring agreement with the basic conditions and rights addressed in those of other universities.
According to the unions, "the general staff are having to foot the bill for any shortfall of money in restructuring, with possible job losses. Our Vice Chancellor says the University can't afford any increases as a result of restructuring but lives in a $3 million house, has a driver, cook, housemaid and expense allowance. Select administrative management personnel receive over-award payments of up to 33%, but they can't afford the restructuring for general staff."
Both industrial campaigns are expected to continue over the next few weeks.