VICTORIA UNIVERSITY BRANCH
- ABOUT US
- OUR UNIVERSITIES MATTER
- Collective Bargaining Commences at VU
- 2008 Branch Newsletters
- 2007 Branch Newsletters
- CONNECT - the publication for sessional academic staff
- Enterprise Agreement
- Audited Financial Reports
ABOUT US
Office Location:
32 Federal Street, (corner of Tiernan and Federal
Streets - enter via carpark in Tiernan Street)
Footscray Park Campus, Telephone: 9919 4076, Fax: 9919 4019, email:
vu@nteu.org.au
Postal address:
National Tertiary Education Union
Victoria University Branch
Footscray Park Campus
c/- Victoria University
PO Box 14428
Melbourne 8001
Branch Officers
President: Richard Gough, telephone 9919 4640
Vice-President Academic: Susan Bevan, telephone 9919 2566
Vice-President General Staff: Michael Zaar, telephone 9919 5233
Secretary: Tom Clark, telephone 9919 2196
Branch Staff
Branch Organiser: Steve Horton, telephone 9919 4076, vu@nteu.org.au
Industrial Organiser: Russel Baader, telephone 9919 4076, rbaader@vic.nteu.org.au
| Branch Executive Committee |
OUR UNIVERSITIES MATTER
NTEU campaigns for a better higher education system
NTEU is campaigning during 2008 to reinvigorate Australia’s universities under the banner of
"Our Universities Matter – Investing in People & Society"
As a part of the campaign for a better higher education system the NTEU is conducting an online National Petition and Statement on Academic Freedom and University Independence.
National Petition
Australia’s universities have the common responsibility of delivering world class scholarship, teaching, research, research training and community service. Each university has a unique mission which aims to meet the needs of the communities it serves. For more than a decade, however, Australia’s universities have experienced significant under-investment and de-stabilisation while still being expected to continue to fulfill their responsibilities.
The Petition calls upon the Federal Government to:
• Improve Commonwealth funding to reflect the real costs of delivering internationally competitive research and education, as well as allowing each institution to follow its own particular mission
• Make access to higher education more equitable and affordable and improve student services at our universities
• Provide legislative protection for the distinctive characteristics of our universities, especially academic freedom and institutional autonomy.
Sign the Petition at: www.nteu.org.au/campaigns/ouruniversitiesmatter/petition
Statement on Academic Freedom and University Independence
Freedom of speech is one of the foundations of a democratic society. Intellectual freedom is exercised by public broadcasters, non-government organisations, independent think tanks, government research agencies, and news agencies.
In the context of universities, academic freedom is a right and responsibility of all staff and students and underpins the creation and dissemination of new knowledge. Academic freedom is central to the mission of each university and must not be undermined by commercial activities or government interference.
Unlike in many other countries, academic freedom in Australian universities is not protected by legislation.
The Statement on Academic Freedom and University Independence calls on the Rudd Government to provide legislative protection for academic freedom and institutional autonomy and support words similar to those contained in Ireland’s Universities Act 1997:
“A member of the academic staff of a university shall have the freedom, within the law, in his or her teaching, research and any other activities either in or outside the university, to question and test received wisdom, to put forward new ideas and to state controversial or unpopular opinions and shall not be disadvantaged, or subject to less favourable treatment by the university, for the exercise of that freedom.
[A university] be entitled to regulate its affairs in accordance with its independent ethos and traditions and the traditional principles of academic freedom, and in doing so it shall have regard to:
(i) the promotion and preservation of equality of opportunity and access,
(ii) the effective and efficient use of resources, and
(iii) its obligations as to public accountability.”
Sign the Statement online at: www.nteu.org.au/campaigns/ouruniversitiesmatter/academic_freedom
Collective Bargaining Commences at VU
The Branch hopes to commence negotiations in August leading to the conclusion of the bargaining by the end of the year.
The NTEU bargaining team consists of the following VU staff: Richard Gough, Tom Clark, Paul Adams, Sue Thurston, and Emily Wark.
The Branch has also set up reference groups to enable the bargaining team to both provide and get feedback and advice from specific constituencies as bargaining unfolds. If you would like to take an active role in this bargaining round, or find out more about the claim and the bargaining process, contact any of the bargaining team members directly or the Branch (on extension 4076, or at vu@nteu.org.au).
The full Log of Claims can be downloaded from here:
| VU Log of Claims for Collective Bargaining |
2008 Branch Newsletters
| Branch News No 2, 5 June 2008 | Collective Bargaining Commences at VU!; The 'UNMAKING' of Equity & Social Justice; Who Gives A Toss About General Staff at VU?; Elections for VU Branch Executive; DESPATCHES; A 4% Payrise! |
| Branch News No 1, 4 February 2008 | From the President; We Have Moved!; Despatches - messages from the frontline: The Unmaking of VU; Academic Leave Deeming; A 2% payrise and 4% yet to come! |
2007 Branch Newsletters
| Branch News No 14, 7 November 2007 | Staff Overworked and Stressed Out by Workloads Model; 24 December: A Holiday!; Member meetings express concern at Workforce Productivity Programme Grant Proposals; Council/ERB Elections; Academic Freedom Under Attack? |
| Branch News No 12, 6 September 2007 | Help to change the academic workloads model; Whitten Oval Plan - Out of bounds on the full?; Thinking about an AWA?; Council/ERB Elections; Open-Plan offices - a non-reply from the Vice-Chancellor? |
| Branch News No 11, 24 July 2007 | Open Letter to VC; SPDP?; DVC Hickman's Reply to member concerns; 2006-2007 Tax Statements;Fixed Term Contract Conversion |
| Bulletin No 10, 19 June 2007 | Sessional Academic Staff marking; University Plans for Open-Plan; A Reply To DVC Hickman; General Staff Re-Classification |
| Bulletin No 9, 12 June 2007 | Facilities Change Plan; Emergency Procedures at VU; Making VUThink |
| Bulletin No 8, 16 May 2007 | VU - Employer of Choice? |
| Bulletin No 7, 19 April 2007 | VC Reinstates Retrenched Academics After Accepting Review Committee Ruling |
| Bulletin No 6, 3 April 2007 | Voice-It? Why can't senior management cut the spin and just report the facts? |
| Bulletin No 5, 21 March 2007 | Soup Can OR Can Can – the Staff Survey Revealed |
| Bulletin No 4, 8 March 2007 | The Inescapable Truths: Mistaking Management for Governance |
| Bulletin No 3, 20 February 2007 | NTEU Takes VU to Federal Court |
| Bulletin No 2, 14 February 2007 | HALF TRUTHS, MEAN SPIRITEDNESS, AND MORE REDUNDANCIES: AN OLD FORMULA IN A NEW SCHOOL OF THOUGHT |
| Bulletin No 1, 15 January, 2007 | Treating People Equally Well – An Old School of Thought |
CONNECT - the publication for sessional academic staff
| CONNECT Issue 1, 2007 | |
| CONNECT Issue 2, July 2007 |
Enterprise Agreement
Victoria University (Academic & General Staff) Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2005
| Enterprise Bargaining Agreement |
Audited Financial Reports
The audited financial reports for the VU Branch of the NTEU can be found here. These reports are for the financial years 2003-2004, 2004-2005, 2005-2006 and 2006-2007. They are available as a PDF file from this web link.
Signed copies can be viewed at the Branch Office, 32 Federal Street, (corner of Tiernan and Federal Streets) Footscray Park Campus
| Audited Financial Reports FY 2006-2007 | The audited financial reports for the VU Branch for the financial year 2006-2007 |
| Audited Financial Reports FY 2005-2006 | The audited financial reports for the VU Branch for the financial year 2005-2006 |
| Audited Financial Reports FY 2004-2005 | The audited financial reports for the VU Branch for the financial year 2004-2005 |
| Audited Financial Reports FY 2003-2004 | The audited financial reports for the VU Branch for the financial year 2003-2004 |