Karen Fredericks, Melbourne

A mass meeting of 150 La Trobe University staff gathered on June 24, at two days' notice, to condemn a paltry enterprise bargaining offer from the university, contingent on increased student fees and the Coalition government’s re-election.

The meeting, called urgently by the executive of the La Trobe branch of the National Tertiary Education Union, voted unanimously to reject an “interim” offer. This included a 3% wage rise and a grab-bag of conditions — some welcome, some not — with a “possible” 10-12% wage rise, contingent on increased revenue from HECS and upfront fees and the implementation of the federal government’s education “reform” package.

The union’s bargaining team reported to the meeting that the increased revenue from students was a formal part of the offer, although the university administration’s bargaining team had indicated that the Coalition re-election contingency was “unofficial”.

University bosses reportedly told the meeting that the institution could not possibly afford to keep pace with other universities unless they could access the student funds promised by education minister Brendan Nelson. They said their economic modelling showed that the ALP’s higher education policy would deliver them considerably less income than the Coalition's.

La Trobe University has, in recent years, been plagued with economic difficulties brought on by mismanagement, in particular expansionary capital expenditure on commercial ventures designed to bring in private income. The ventures have not been successful. Now students and staff are paying the price.

Over 40% of staff at La Trobe are NTEU members. The mass meeting decided to implement an emergency recruitment campaign, to place bans on the release of exam results, quality assurance processes and implementation of a new information technology system. It also passed a motion of no confidence in the vice-chancellor, Michael Osborne, who was reported to be on a package worth over $700,000 per year.

From Green Left Weekly, June 30, 2004.
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