University of Western Australia Branch
Welcome to the homepage of the University of Western Australia Branch of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU). The NTEU represents and provides advocacy for academic, general, research, casual, CELT and Guild staff at the University of Western Australia.
Our office is located on campus in W2 Winthrop Tower, Winthrop Hall.
Feel free to contact Eileen Glynn the Branch Organiser 6488 3013.
Office hours are 9am to 5pm Tuesday - Friday
- Join the NTEU UWA Branch
- UWA Bargaining Update 5
- Latest News
- Workloads Forum
- Collective Bargaining Campaign 2008/09
- Heads of Agreement
- Organisational Change Campaign Committee
- Branch Contacts
- Newletter 2008 -2009
- Union Collective Workplace Agreements
- Letter from NTEU to the University Re PROPOSED NEW ACADEMIC CAREER STRUCTURE NOMENCLATURE
Join the NTEU UWA Branch
What do you gain for your modest annual membership fee and what do you stand to lose?
At a time of global financial uncertainty the entire Higher Education sector is facing massive change. After years of sustained attacks on your workplace rights, how can you best secure and restore your employment future? As one amongst many who stand together, or will you stand alone?
| Join Forms | We only exist to provide support to each other: those who work in higher education in all of its forms. |
| Branch audit 0607 | |
| Financial Statements for the Year ended June 2008 |
UWA Bargaining Update 5
Dear NTEU members,
Negotiation Update
We continue to meet on a fortnightly basis and our final academic and general staff negotiation meeting is on Tuesday 22 December.
At the last negotiation meeting we discussed key aspects of academic workload including:
· 40% (teaching), 40% (research and scholarship), 20% (other activities)
· Teaching in no more than two(2) semesters per year
· Annualised hours
We agreed that we would provide the University management negotiation team with a more detailed academic workload clause in the new year.
At previous meetings we have also continued to press for the inclusion in the general staff agreement of unsatisfactory performance and misconduct procedures that currently exist only in policy.
Please read the full details of academic and general staff logs of claims on this website below.
We will recommence negotiations in the latter part of January 2010 and members are asked to support campaign activities in the new year.
We would like to wish all our members a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Yours sincerely,
Jamie O’Shea
President, NTEU UWA Branch
Latest News
Dear Members,
With most of the madness of the examination period over we may now have a chance to catch up on the backlog of work and for some of us, sleep, before we are sent on leave. Unfortunately our industrial staff have also been very busy trying to protect the rights at work of some of our members here at UWA! While these may not seem to be happy times for our University perhaps we should be exercising still more patience and wait for the release of the Working Life Survey to see just how contented we really are. At least I can report that enterprise bargaining can proceed now that the Executive of the University have finally found time to decide what their log of claims will pursue. While I have been accused of being cynical in the past I cannot be anything other than cynical when the restraint that we exercised in the last round of bargaining to prevent job loses has been repaid by the threat of job loses in the large number of organizational change activities that are being aggressively pursued here in many Schools and Faculties. As the chief negotiator for the Union in that round of bargaining I must accept responsibility for taking the Executive at their word with respect to their undertakings of protecting jobs. The proposed loss of 7.9 general staff positions in Engineering is not an isolated case and as we have suspected is how the books will be balanced. How many colleagues will we farewell at our Christmas functions? Other "surprises" in our Christmas stockings are the restriction of academic access to study leave, the proposed loss of staff IP to the University and yes you guessed it, a proposed change to parking.
The last newsletter reported on some of the procedures involved in the mode of appointment to and the operation of the Chancellor’s Committee of the University. I have received correspondence from the Chancellor indicating that some members of Senate were deeply concerned about this article. The Branch Committee determined that I should respond to the Chancellor indicating that the article was not meant to in any way criticise the skills, dedication and commitment of the individual members of the Chancellor’s Committee, but rather to comment on the mode of operation and constitution of the Committee. The Union will continue to exercise our legitimate right to comment on governance issues on behalf of our members and keep you informed. I would like to refer you to an interesting and very relevant article by Andrew Trounson in The Australian Higher Education section on October 2, 2009. The article is titled, "Universities face academic exodus as corporate culture takes hold" see link following: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/universities-face-academic-exodus-as-corporate-culture-takes-hold/story-e6frgcjx-1225781847930#page
The article reflects on the changes that corporate culture has brought to our university lifestyle and culture. Remember when we were about the "free exchange" of ideas?
Best always,
Dr Jamie O'Shea
Workloads Forum
On September 18, UWA NTEU Branch Held a Well Attended Forum on Workloads.
The forum examined the impact of high workloads on the psychological and physical health of univerity staff and outlined how the inclusion of prescriptive limits on workload into the NTEU's Collective Agreements with UWA, is an effective mechanism through which staff at UWA can limit the growth of workloads.
Below is some of the growing research of the impact of high workloads on staff referred to in the forum.
| UWS Research | |
| National University Stress Study | |
| Bargaining and Academic Workloads |
Collective Bargaining Campaign 2008/09
| 2009 Log of Claims AS | |
| 2009 Log of Claims GS | |
| Collective Agreement Academic Staff | Union Collective Agreement Academic Staff 2009 |
| Collective Agreement General Staff | Union Collective Agreement General Staff 2009 |
| Statement of Principles |
Heads of Agreement
| Heads of Agreement General Staff | |
| Heads of Agreement Academic Staff |
Organisational Change Campaign Committee
Dear Comrades,
As you may be aware, the university is restructuring as many as five faculties simultaneously this year. The WA branch of the NTEU has formed a Campaign Committee to keep track of what is going on and to make sure that we protect all of our members. The Campaign Committee will be responsible for collecting information, distributing information to members and other staff about events(both university and union organised) and planning activities to protect members jobs, pay and conditions.
You will be hearing from a committee contact from your school in the next week or so.
We need your help! Anything you can do to assist will be welcome. However, what we need to know most is what is happening in your school and faculty. Please send any comments to me or to your contact. It is only when we know what is happening that we can do anything to help!
Regards
Matt Hardin
Branch Secretary, UWA Branch NTEU
| Union Presentation | The Power Point presented by Dr Jamie O'Shea and Peter Stokes at recent Union Meetings |
| Letter to VC | |
| Organisational Change and Consultation in Science | A Guide to Organisational Change in relation to proposed changes in the Faculty of Life and Physical Sciences |
| A Guide to Organisational Change | |
| A Guide to Organisational Change 2 | |
| How to help with the campaign | what you can do to show your support for the FLPS Campaign |
Branch Contacts
James O'Shea, PresidentTel: (08) 6488 2242
Fax: (08) 6488 1029
email: jeoshea@cyllene.uwa.edu.au Stuart Bunt, Vice President (Academic Staff)
Tel: (08) 6488 2983 Fax: (08) 6488 1079
email: smbunt@anhb.uwa.edu.au Tom Stewart, Vice President (General Staff)
Tel: (08) 6488 3961 Fax: (08) 6488 1079
email: tom@cyllene.uwa.edu.au Eileen Glynn, Branch Organiser
Tel: (08) 6488 3013 Fax: (08) 6488 1079
email: nteu@cyllene.uwa.edu.au Peter Stokes,Industrial Officer Tel: (08) 6488 3013 Fax: 6488 1079 Mobile: 0400 115 474 Email: pstokes@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
| NTEU UWA Branch Committee | Contact information for your Office Bearers, elected to represent you from October 1 2008 to September 30, 2009 |
Newletter 2008 -2009
| Newsletter Nov 2009 | |
| Newsletter June 2009 | |
| Newsletter March 2009 | |
| Newsletter Oct 2008 |
Union Collective Workplace Agreements
All University staff will be aware of the impact of HEWWRs on workplaces and collective agreements in the context of choice in agreement making, direct relationship with employees, workplace flexibility, productivity and performance, and freedom of association.
In addition the Work Choice legislation required that a completely new agreement be made, with a considerable list of prohibited matters that could no longer be included in Agreements. Amongst these were:
- A remedy for unjust, unfair dismissal
- Union right of entry
- Mandated union involvement in dispute settlement procedures
- Trade Union training
- Objectionable provisions (whatever they might be and whoever is to decide)
- Re-negotiation clauses.
Given all these interfering measures by government, the Union and the management of the University were both placed in a difficult situation. We believe that our traditional approach of a reasonable and co-operative working arrangement with the management has resulted in the least draconian bargain that might have been accomplished under these regulations. We will continue to protect as far as possible a reasonable and just workplace.
We ask all members to acquaint themselves with the new academic union collective workplace agreement and the new general staff union collective workplace agreement and to ensure that they are aware of their rights and entitlements.
Letter from NTEU to the University Re PROPOSED NEW ACADEMIC CAREER STRUCTURE NOMENCLATURE
| Letter to University |