NTEU council plans campaigns
In October, the national council of the National Tertiary Education and Industry Union met to discuss future directions, campaigns and policies. Green Left Weekly's JEREMY SMITH spoke to CAROLYN ALLPORT, federal president of the NTEU.
Question: What are the key campaigns areas set by the national council for the next 12 months ?
Council reaffirmed the commitment to strengthening workplace organisation through the provision of recruitment resources and programs for delegates. Workplace organisation was also enhanced by trying to refine effective methods of collection of dues and not relying on salary deductions.
We wanted to encourage branches to believe that they had a responsibility to meet a certain servicing level. One of the best ways to do that is through the promotion of active delegate networks. This is a training priority over the next year.
Council noted that we had done well in enterprise bargaining, had kept to the general rubric of council policy, that we got our awards rolled into the agreements, and that we kept to our floor price, which was 11%.
There are some difficulties in terms of the spread of payments, so that differences between institutions emerged, but we managed to keep some comparability.
Council also instructed national executive to continue vetting agreements, so the provision for a national strategy remains.
Question: What do you see as some of the challenges for the next round in 1999?
The challenge will be to determine a quantum that is realisable in an unsure environment. We achieved what we set out to achieve in this round. Whether we will be able to replicate that without taking job losses is another matter.
Most delegates were keen to establish the notion that we must go after more Commonwealth funding. That sentiment translated into support for the wider political campaign. We have to find some way to get the Commonwealth back into the funding game as far as salary rises are concerned.
Question: What about the government's new Workplace Relations Act?
We will not be intimidated by the act. Its workplace focus is not a problem for us, because we are always workplace-focused. At the same time, this is not inconsistent with a national strategy.
In terms of our awards, we have built in some protection by rolling them into enterprise bargaining.
We will set up working parties and reference groups of members in a process whereby national office can be engaged with staff in the union and members. That was considered particularly important for the general staff award.
Question: What about the new award for contract and casual staff?
This is an incredible victory for the union. It puts us ahead of any other industry or union. We'll be restricting the type of work that contract and casual labour can do. The employers will fight it through the courts, but the [Industrial Relations] Commission is very clear that it has the right to rule.
Question: What about the NTEU's relationship with student unions and the National Union of Students?
The alliance with NUS, CAPA [Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations] and student organisations more broadly is very important. Some concerns that arose around one agreement [at the University of Melbourne] did create initial problems for the union because the union was seen as supporting up-front fees.
This was very quickly turned around. Many other members of the union were concerned about the agreement. There are particular reasons why Melbourne went the way it did. This is a lesson for the future.
Since then the relationship has been stronger. We've participated in and given support to all the NUS campaigns against up-front fees, and most particularly at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
Staff and students both have a strong commitment to an accessible and fair higher education system. The policy of the NTEU is very clear about charges to students, about the increases to HECS and about the attacks on student unions. We feel very strongly about the right of student organisations to exist, to be representative of students and to have compulsory fees.
Question: What is flagged for future campaigns around wider political issues ?
It began with a motion from Newcastle supporting the dispute at Hunter Valley No 1 mine. That was carried unanimously.
That gave an indication that delegates understood that they were part of a labour movement and that it was important to give solidarity to other unions. Part of that arose from the enterprise bargaining round, when we got branches to send messages of support when they were out.
The Indigenous Education Committee put forward a policy motion that commits the union to having a very broad approach to issues involving indigenous students and indigenous staff and also commits the union to the social and economic issues.
Council supported unanimously the statement on Wik and native title, and members have been very active around those issues during the year.
There were some people who asked me privately, "How come we're doing this? This is not core union business." My approach is that these are issues of justice and fairness and an appropriate rule of law. These are issues that go to the heart of what unions are.
We have been running strong all year on the basis of being politically independent. If we run a political [election] campaign it is to enhance the position of our members and not to support any particular party. We have to start now, and it means being engaged with politicians and with community groups to make sure that at the next election issues about funding and access and education are raised.
We want to be in there making sure that it is an issue for all parties.
There are new lessons that we're learning. The union is creating an incredibly strong identity, but one which is driven by the membership in a way that I don't imagine that a lot of other unions are.