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
[ +7 ] I agree with Barry. I certainly don't subscribe to the same school of thought as Kirstin, and I get the same vibe from all my study colleagues too. I want my results!
Like • Dislike •[ +18 ] Firstly to Kirsten.
Like • Dislike •You sound like a union sympathiser without any rational basis. Your ignorance of what the overwhelming number of students are saying on this blog as well those I network with might be indicative of this. What led me to navigate to this site in the first place was my dismay at what the NTEU are instructing their members to do, in the hope I could let them know in some fashion. I am fortunate this blog offers such a democratic vehicle to do so and I commend the NTEU for allowing it. However, it appears from your obvious support of the NTEU that what has driven you to this site is to have a sticky-beak and join in the unionistic antagonisms. After all, why come to this site unless you really are concerned about the withholding of your grades, unless you're an NTEU in disguise or some erratic union/labour party sympathiser with no rational basis for your comments.
Fact: students have nothing to do with the pay dispute. Don't then unfairly punish them. When the VC changed the goal-posts for the credit point system, where was the NTEU in support of us? If they did make noises then, it wasn't as loud as this. And, as you are a loud minority Kirsten, of course that makes you absolutely right and therefore qualified to make big calls on what is right and wrong on a 'planetary' scale. As far your absurd comments regarding my family and kids go, every family situation is different, and again I won't be justifying to you why I need my marks on time, other than to say yes it does have ramifications on what food gets served on the table (to name a few). As a mother, I would have thought you of all people would understand where I’m coming from. My plight, first and foremost, is the welfare of my family, not the MQ pay dispute. Call that selfish? Then so be it. This is exactly what the lecturers are doing. Looking after No. 1.
Notwithstanding that (both Kirsten and Cathy), I did in fact do a little research of the background to all this and note Cathy's comments that she largely blames the Howard Government for the shortfalls of two universities (where 30 or so other universities are not so affected). So we really are then talking about two rogue VC's, both MQ & UNSW, and not the majority of uni's (otherwise the rest of them would have been so badly affected by this phantom heavy-handedness by Howard). Yet, we've now had Labor in power for how many years now and what have they done for their friends/brothers/comrades?
Kirsten, as soon as another uni can offer my course in external mode (after all, being a parent, full-time worker, etc) I will gladly swap. It's because MQ does have a captured market in this respect, it knows it has many people by the short & curly's. Again, not something you can understand.
As for the pay dispute, yeah it sucks. I once worked for a rogue employer, so I cut the umbilical chord. It was the best thing that happened. Maybe some of you should too. And just to let you know Cathy, I have not sat back and simply whinged. In the last coupe of days I actually took the time out to write a letter on both our behalves, to a prominent media entity to see if they will take an interest in it. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Lastly, in case you feel the urge to respond Kirsten, no I’m not a liberal party sympathiser either. But unfortunately it appears a lot of this has to do with politics, and we know unions typically side with Labor. You’ve only got to look at our misfit Ministers; all ex-union cronies. And thanks Cathy, yes I will pursue the exemption path, if this is the only option. Despite your pay issues, I do genuinely hope you are still able to enjoy Christmas with your little ones.
[ +2 ] The thing is some people require their grades for transfer into other (and usually better opportune) courses, and scholarships (some people are in financial difficulty and do not want uni fees as a debt on their heads), and because the faculties regarded in the transfer cannot do anything about without our marks, we would have to wait another year to transfer, and even by then it is not guaranteed, some students really worked hard for their marks (we can't all be born geniuses), and to wait another year, wasting a lot of our money and effort, when and we can't be guaranteed a place anyway and even may not be available. Are you really sure that's fair?
Like • Dislike •But what I'm really appalled with is the banning of marks from certain faculties, if it was all marks then It'd would be more fair (well that is relative but not going into that now), I'm an Science/Engineering student and 3/4 of my marks were hindered release while my friends in all other faculties received all their marks and their successful transfers, while I got a rejection letter (and my ATAR, first semester's WAM and my 2nd sem released mark was more than enough to get me in, regardless of other 2nd sem marks which I have at least passed even if they're still on LE). Are you really sure that's fair?
I understand the actions you have to take in order for your fair working conditions, and I'm not blaming you directly. However you've got to see it in our point of view, and empathize with us. It may sound insensitive, but some students do not care about the strike. But they won't oppose it as long as it has nothing to do with them, which unfortunately cannot be applied here, as you've clearly affected a lot of students here. You can say that we whine for nothing, and under normal conditions I would agree that banning marks for a few weeks would be okay in favour for the better quality of our education, however there are students with things at stake.
In the same position as you I would probably do the same, but there has got to be a better way to strike without it affecting us and especially to this extent.
[ +12 ] Kirsten,
Like • Dislike •"all you are losing is the chance to crow about your grades for a couple of weeks" - if that was the only problem most of us would not be having a whinge, I certainly wouldn't.
"don't tell anyone, but there are numerous other universities who would welcome you, you can even transfer your credit points - why not look into a move right now?" - I have applied through UAC for another uni, but they can't access the marks that are being with-held...see the problem?
[ -8 ] Barry, I have to ask this, because (as professional worker, part-time student and parent) I am curious: how does not getting your grades right on time go affect your four children? Do they eat grades?
Like • Dislike •One other thing: all the 'disgusteds' - don't tell anyone, but there are numerous other universites who would welcome you, you can even transfer your credit points - why not look into a move right now? Honestly, so many other lovely, inviting unis to attend, check them out TODAY. They'd love to have you...
[ -11 ] I cannot believe the above 'disgusted' students exist on the same campus, let alone the same planet, as the rest of us. How can you all be so short-sighted? Have you not read ANY of the background to this dispute? Even if the only people you are able to think of is your selves, which is quite clearly the case, you should be able to grasp that the current situation is going to result in an exodus of quality teachers because of rubbish employment conditions, a more limited choice of units (currently one of the strong points at MQ) the hiring of MORE casual staff, who are in the long term, cannot afford to be as committed because they are paid by the HOUR. Is university just something to GET THROUGH, a box to tick for you? You dare to call it 'selfish' when staff are losing a month's salary, and all you are losing is the chance to crow abour your grades for a couple of weeks - who are the truly un-Australian ones I wonder? STAFF of Macquarie, please know that there are many students who are able to comprehend the depth of this struggle, who understand they may one day have to fight a workplace battle, and who offer you 100 per cent support. We want to pass through an education system, not a supermarket check-out!
Like • Dislike •[ +10 ] All I can say is the Tree of Knowledge must be wilting in shame up there at Barcaldine, as with the ghostly heads of those shearers who started it all. For those unionists who have lost thier way, I suggest you look it up. This is not how it was meant to be.
Like • Dislike •[ -2 ] @Cathy
Like • Dislike •I understand and highly respect what you are striving to achieve, but really, is this the best way the NTEU could come up with?
If so, well, isn't that a very sad and embarassing reflection on the rest of us at Macquarie. Maybe the opportunity cost of pursuing the witholding of results should have been considered in light of those waiting for what we have paid for, the MQ reputation and future students looking into MQ. The NTEU have basically publically declared the best possible method they could think of was to sacrifice student entitlements and the MQ reputation.
Cathy, as you said, as students we are part of the "collective body that is the University" but why does it feel as though we are being punished for being so?
[ -7 ] Obviously you all have your perspective and we have ours. If you believe that we (the Union members) don't care about students then I am afraid you are sadly mistaken - our members care deeply about students and about the work we do with students. I'm not just the Branch President - I am an academic working in the University's Learning and Teaching Centre. I, along with my LTC colleagues (general and academic staff) am engaged (other than when stood down) in supporting and providing for the enhancement of quality teaching and learning at the University, and I can assure you that as the recipient of an MQ Outstanding Teacher Award a few years ago, my genuine concern for students and their learning is well recognised.
Like • Dislike •Of course I am sorry for the inconvenience and frustration students are feeling at the moment, however, contrary to your claims, you are not innocent bystanders in this dispute. The University consists of students, staff, graduates and the Council (check the Act) - we actually should be working together to defend The University (us) from the whims and ideological interferences of Executive Management and the Government. The industrial battle we are fighting now is the direct result of two underlying factors: the previous Coalition Government that interfered in the way universities employed staff, and now a couple of dinosaur VCs who want to keep things the way their political heroes set them up, despite the change of government, despite 30 other universities restoring conditions lost under Howard, and despite the DEMONSTRATED negative impact of casualisation and abuse of fixed-term employment on STUDENTS, staff and educational QUALITY in our universities.
So, students, YOU are part of this fight too, because there is a need to defend the University - and that's all of US. You have a few options: you can disengage from the issue of defending your University and see things in an egocentric (and I don't mean egotistical, I mean egocentric) way and keep posting your individual demands to receive marks or you can take responsibility as part of the collective body that is the University, and join the fight for quality and decent conditions for its constituent parts - principally, students and staff (although graduates and Council are also affected via the impact on the University's reputation and hence their professional standing and governance role, respectively).
Up to you. But I think that those who are picking up the wider, collective responsibility to defend the University by taking or supporting this action, although they are sympathetic to your egocentric perspective, will see it as less important in the long run compared to the bigger picture cause that they are fighting for.
Oh, and "Gough", thanks for giving both Grahame and myself probably the best laugh we've had for decades.
And Barry, I do have personal sympathy for your situation, having brought up a child as a single parent from day 1 - I know what day-to-day struggles are like. But it's through joining a collective struggle that I actually found the strength and support to deal with the personal ones as well. I encourage you to apply for an exemption.
[ +2 ] NOW THE MQ STUDENTS KNOW OUR PAIN. interesting to see how unsw students were bagged out on previous posts for being furious at having their marks withheld, now come dec 17 and mq students are angry and out in force.
Like • Dislike •mq students, i TOTALLY know how u feel. i been waiting for my results since DEC 2, and we can't even apply for exemption (WTF). what total bs. nice to know i'm sweating blood to pay my ******* fees and this ******* **** is all i get for it.