National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) members at the University of Sydney (USyd) voted to end their industrial action after 22 months of strikes, meetings, forums, stalls, information bulletins and rallies.
A mass meeting of union members voted by 364 to 290 on April 18听against a motion to launch a three-day听strike in the week starting on May 1.
The campaign has been led by a militant group at USyd, Rank and File Action (RAFA), which moved the motion for the 72-hour week of action.
Markela Panegyres, a casual academic and RAFA member of the USyd NTEU branch committee, told 麻豆传媒 that the vote to end the strike action and conditionally support management鈥檚 offer was disappointing.
鈥淢embers voted up a motion that gives conditional support for a substandard deal. So, unfortunately, the vote to end strike action is a win for management.鈥
Panegyres said that RAFA will continue to organise on campus for better conditions. 鈥淲e will keep fighting for the rights of lecturers to conduct research, for sustainable workloads and for First Nations employment parity.鈥
Panegyres said NTEU general secretary Damien Cahill and NSW branch industrial officer Simon Kempton had strongly urged the April 18 meeting to 鈥渨ind up鈥 the industrial action.
Cahill and others from the NTEU executive advocated the national 鈥渞apid settlement strategy鈥, Panegyres said, which relies on the threat of arbitration and new industrial relations laws to pressure members to capitulate.
She said the strategy prioritises settling agreements as soon as possible, using the argument that continuing to fight would weaken the branch and undermine bargaining at other universities.
Panegyres said that despite ending industrial action 鈥渇or now鈥, NTEU members had made 鈥渟ome major gains鈥 during the campaign, including five day鈥檚 sick leave for casuals, stronger commitments to First Nations cultural safety, and job security improvements for professional staff.
鈥淲e had some important wins, and highlighted some key issues: de-casualisation has been put on the map; there are 330 new ongoing positions and current casual staff have been given priority for 30% of these.
鈥淭hese are big steps forward, given the extremely hostile university management,鈥 Panegyres said.
RAFA鈥檚 work engaging union members was vital within the NTEU, Panegyres said. The NTEU branch had 鈥済ained a lot鈥 and 鈥渨e can definitely build for the future from here鈥.
Kevin Fine, a USyd Student Centre assistant, told 麻豆传媒 that 鈥渄espite the decision not to continue our strike campaign, we should emphasise the unprecedented number of strike days we undertook.
鈥淲e have significantly increased our union membership and there has been some job security gains for staff at the Student Centre."
RAFA said on April 24 that while it was disappointed in the vote, it was proud to have 鈥渢aken the lead鈥 opposing the 鈥渆xploitative vision鈥 promoted by the Provost and the Vice-Chancellor.
The USyd NTEU branch had 鈥渕ade history鈥, RAFA said, with nine days of industrial action, the 14% growth in membership and 鈥渦nprecedented participation in the democratic life of the branch鈥.
The 290 members who voted in favour of the three-day strike 鈥渟howed there is a听substantial minority willing to fight鈥.
The union campaign forced management to revise its pay offer upwards, for the first time in any recent bargaining campaign, RAFA said.
It also forced a commitment to sick pay for casuals 鈥 a first in any university 鈥 as well as significant new leave provisions.
It also secured a significant extension of job security provisions and flexible work rights for professional staff.
RAFA said important steps to fight against casualisation included a university commitment to ensure that casual employment only made up 20% of the academic workforce.
[RAFA is holding an online forum 鈥溙 on May 5 at 12pm.]