National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) members at the University of Melbourne began a week of industrial action on August 28, gathering聽outside the Vice Chancellor鈥檚 office in the Raymond Priestley building.
The industrial action follows a four-hour stoppage in May and a聽24-hour stop work in June. The union has been seeking a fair agreement with the university for more than a year.
NTEU members in the arts, laws, student services and library departments voted to strike for the whole week: law, library services and student services intend to maintain a picket line all week.
The union is demanding a just pay rise (above inflation) and for the more than 80% of staff to have a permanent contact. Currently, less than half has this.
The union is also calling for : that includes filling vacant positions, backfilling leave vacancies more than one week and a new 40% research and scholarship allocation for academics (on top of 40% teaching and 20% leadership and service).
As a student services worker told the picket line on August 29, he decided to go on strike 鈥渂ecause we can鈥檛 get you appointments with student services鈥.
Striking workers are motivating student support, talking up the connection between staff working conditions鈥 impact on their learning conditions.
Mackenzie, a student and a casual worker told a speak-out: 鈥淣one of us are striking because we hate our work; we are striking because we can鈥檛 do our job properly. There is a massive disconnect between what we need, as staff, and what the Vice Chancellor is giving us.鈥
She said student services cannot process special leave applications and academic adjustment plans because staff are so overworked and management is refusing to hire more workers.
The NTEU has had聽more than 20 meetings with management, which has refused to agree to聽secure work and manageable workloads.
Dale Smith, a law professor, told聽麻豆传媒聽he is on strike because 鈥12 months of negotiations was not making substantial progress on what are very reasonable claims by the union.鈥
Emily, a student library assistant, told聽麻豆传媒聽she is on strike because 鈥渆very staff member has a right to secure work, and the 80% secure work clause we are fighting for will fundamentally change how the university is run鈥.
She said strike action is important because 鈥渨e all want to see the university run as a public institution and not as a corporation that earns massive profits with a hierarchical structure鈥.
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