Ballarat Uni bans 'get the goods'

BY BRONWYN JENNINGS

BALLARAT — Bans imposed by trade union members at Ballarat University have broken the stalemate in negotiations between management and staff. The bans, which came into effect on November 13, were imposed on exam supervision and the processing and transmission of results.

An agreement to settle was made between management and the National Tertiary Education Industry Union (NTEU) on November 17. It included a 13% compounded salary increase, the broad-banding of general staff classifications and a program of increasing superannuation benefits for TAFE general staff.

NTEU branch president Jeremy Smith told Green Left Weekly that "it was the industrial action and the united action by the three trade unions that got the goods here ... Division between blue and white collar workers led to a less favourable agreement in the round of enterprise bargaining but we've worked hard to overcome that."

From GLW issue 429