'University of the year' to strike
By Helen Jarvis
SYDNEY — National Tertiary Education and Industry Union members at the University of NSW on February 19 voted not to begin teaching at the start of the 1997 academic year, but instead to strike on the first two days (March 3 and 4). They will then meet on March 5 to consider escalating industrial action until their salary claims are met without loss of conditions.
Staff were angered by UNSW management's failure to make any meaningful improvement in the week since the last meeting, which had rejected the offer on the table as aggressive and insulting. The university has offered a rise of 11.45% over 27 months in exchange for weekend work and a third, summer, teaching session at no extra pay.
Their anger was considerably exacerbated by an attack on "lazy academics" made by Vice-Chancellor Professor John Niland on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald the day before.
The meeting reminded Niland that it is the staff that enabled UNSW to be named "University of the Year" in 1996, and that it is not reasonable to expect those same staff to accept lower pay and conditions than are being agreed to at other universities.
The executive's recommendation for a one-day strike on the Wednesday of week one was rejected, as was another proposal from the floor for a one-week strike, which may yet follow if a reasonable offer is not forthcoming.
Delegations are to visit other campuses in the state explaining the situation, and the UNSW general staff union and students are to be asked to support the strike and to join the picket line.
The meeting also voted to support the National Day of Action proposed by the National Union of Students for March 26 and to wage a united national campaign in defence of higher education.