By Jeremy Smith
MELBOURNE — Delegates to a two-day National Tertiary Education Industry Union conference on June 15 and 16 resolved to go on the offensive against the federal government's cuts and privatisation.
The conference was organised to chart a strategy for the next round of enterprise bargaining, set to open in September. The central planks are a 19% pay rise over three years and an employment security charter.
The charter includes provisions for managing change, no overall job losses and limits on the contracting of services. It also places a ceiling on the erosion of conditions for general staff, with bans on unpaid overtime and the extension of university hours.
Concerns over superannuation are addressed in a claim for a minimum 17% employer contribution. Delegates decided that revenue-based contingency payments, which were so controversial in the Melbourne University agreement, would be banned, as would superannuation trade-offs and Australian Workplace Agreements.
General secretary Graeme McCulloch implored delegates to adhere to the national strategy being considered.
The Australian Higher Education Industrial Association claimed that institutions could not afford the rise and that further cuts would follow. It threatened widespread sackings if the union was successful.
The University of Ballarat delegate, Judy Swan, told Green Left Weekly that "the major concern is job security, but a lot of delegates are increasingly impatient with bearing the brunt of the government's reduced support for education, tertiary education in particular. The aim is to confront the issue of salary increases by seeking a large increase, and to agitate for adequate funding for the sector."