Members of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) continued their strike action at the University of Sydney on May 24 after management refused to negotiate on their log of claims, which includes: an end to forced redundancies; enforceable controls on workload; ending long-term casualisation; enforceable targets for First Nations' educators; and a pay rise.
Damien Cahill, NTEU NSW Secretary, told the picket line that the University has just returned a operating surplus of $1.04 billion — about a third of its total budget. It can afford to pay it staff properly, he said.
Finola Laughren from the University of Sydney Casuals Network and a picket line captain on May 24 told Green Left that the university had to "walk the walk" and address the racism that exists at the university, including taking cultural work seriously, properly paying First Nations' educators and setting fixed employment targets.