Urgent appeal for donations: UNSW and Macquarie Members Losing Christmas Pay
AN URGENT MESSAGE FROM GRAHAME MCCULLOCH, NTEU GENERAL SECRETARY
Dear Friend,
The 150 NTEU members imposing industrial bans at UNSW and Macquarie University need your urgent financial support. Since late November, the managements at both universities have progressively stood down your NTEU colleagues. These colleagues have offered to perform the overwhelming majority of their duties, and management is free to pay them for these duties. Instead, management has punished them by refusing to pay any salary at all.
Many of the members involved in this dispute have not received pay for nearly three weeks and could suffer continuing income losses of many thousands of dollars over the Christmas and New Year period.
You can directly hear from these colleagues in a video at http://www.youtube.com/user/NSWNTEU
Members Given No Choice
Despite two years of intense discussions, both managements have point blank refused to reach a negotiated settlement. Consequently, NTEU members have been forced to take industrial action to gain new Enterprise Agreements with better job security and the restoration of conditions and entitlements stripped away by the Howard Government.
NTEU members at other universities across Australia have already achieved new Enterprise Agreements, and it is only the UNSW and Macquarie managements who are refusing to provide the job security and employment conditions necessary to maintain quality teaching, research and student services. This refusal is an insult to the professional standing of our colleagues at Macquarie and UNSW.
Please Donate to the Fighting Fund Now
Our brave UNSW and Macquarie colleagues’ fight is your fight as well. Maintaining high quality employment standards across all universities depends on collective support.
Financially protecting these members requires several hundred thousand dollars, and they need your direct financial support. Many people have already contributed but we urgently need more support.
Donate at http://www.nteu.org.au/fighting_fund
Kind regards
Grahame McCulloch
NTEU General Secretary
Comments
[ 0 ] Samuel L- I'm not trolling. Can't speak for unsw but mq nteu branch has decided to release grades and concentrate on other forms of action. Don't know why this info hasn't been released on these blogs but I received notice through my student email, and though I can't confirm this, students at mq should be able to access all their grades if not immediately then very, very soon (see post by hayley just above my own at 22 Dec 6.46.
Like • Dislike •Thanks.
[ 0 ] How many weeks of annual leave do educators get? Some people think NTEU members and all teachers should only get four weeks annual leave a year like the rest of the real world. Imagine how productive they will be then. They can spend the extra time away from students doing admin, research or maybe even improving the courses they offer and all the other stuff that needs to be done. The VC doesn't look so bad afterall now does he because there are actually people our there who think educators are militant egocentric whinging bludgers.
Like • Dislike •[ -1 ] If the VC is as cut throat and business savvy as the articles I've read on him then I can't possibly see how this will eventuate in your demands being met. Truth of the matter is, the VC probably won't be fazed until he sees noticeable drops in student enrolments or a mass exodus of staff which happen to be at the nucleus of research. I mean after all, his bonus scheme is based on MQ getting into the top 200 or something stupid like that?
Like • Dislike •Conversely, I commend you in trying to stop student disruption HOWEVER ironically it probably stands as a hindrance to your cause; you need an accentuated element of disruption within your sphere of attack simply because its what will make the VC hear your demands. Afterall, he does have quite a corporate ironfist approach to running the university and thus such a wide disruption would force him to listen to the plight of students (his customers and cashflow). Truth of the matter is, I think many business and economics students are largely unaffected and just from simple observation, I'd guess thats were the majority of the cashflow lies.
TLDR: You guys really needed to go all the way for it to be effective.
Also, Chris stop trolling.
[ +1 ] MQ NTEU branch has voted to stop this particular action. All grades will be released immediately.
Like • Dislike •[ +1 ] Hey,
Like • Dislike •I was wondering have strikes finished?
I got my grade for mhis114 that was previously held back, or has my lecturer robert reynolds just stopped striking?
Just curious if this is my real mark or if strikes haven't finished and everyone is just getting a grade.
thanks
[ +16 ] Just to let all the sheep in NTEU know, I followed your instructions to claim for 'exemption' and got a positive response (how very kind of you) however my official grades still not have made e-student. This now has the unavoidable effect that I won't have enough money for my kids Christmas presents this year, and if in fact my grades come through sometime in January, they might be lucky enough to grab a bargain when the January sales are on. Thanks very much you weak bas*tards.
Like • Dislike •[ -2 ] "MQ staff who are not being paid are taking a brave (and financially costly) action to safeguard the quality of universities and a university education in Australia"
Like • Dislike •oh please. spare me the martyrdom. the REAL martyrs here are the students whose lives have been screwed over by this whole fiasco.
[ -14 ] As a student, I am amazed by the negative comments here. The MQ staff who are not being paid are taking a brave (and financially costly) action to safeguard the quality of universities and a university education in Australia. Casual and short contract staff are not encouraged (or paid) to research or even develop course material properly. Without secure employment, paid appropriately, there is no way that teaching standards will be maintained or research undertaken. I support the staff that have been ‘stood down’ because I appreciate the value to society of inquiry and knowledge – and I value the worth of the people who are committed to its development.
Like • Dislike •[ -2 ] but yes so long as Im not burnt at the stake for the heresy of having an opinion im ok to wait for my results to come out...what really worried me was that i would never receive them. which im now assured is the case. i dont know mabe ill read a book or something and stop obsessing.
Like • Dislike •[ 0 ] yes sorry for that misunderstanding, i didnt mean i was censored on facebook. just my opinion were greatly exaggerated, demonised and over looked- by some. And definitely not all. Some people were very friendly :)
Like • Dislike •But i still maintain that withholding some student marks is unfair, when I opened up estudent and saw 'incomplete' i had no idea what that meant. I obviously got rather anxious since much of my time and effort goes into ensuring I get the best marks possible. I still maintain that those who demonised my comment overlooked my own perspetive- much like what those in management are doing to you i suspect :(. as for 'Gracious'.. as im sure you know gracious is: 'Courteous, kind, and pleasant, esp. toward someone of lower social status'
the second part of this is definitely how this third party punishment is making me feel now.