Casual Conference 2007

NATIONAL NTEU CASUALS CONFERENCE

4-5 December 2007 in Melbourne

REPORT BY NTEU FLINDERS BRANCH DELEGATE - Katy Osborne

The National NTEU Casuals Conference held in Melbourne on 4th and 5th December 2007 was attended by NTEU Flinders Branch Delegate, Katy Osborne. A summary of Katy’s Report on the Conference follows:

"I attended the NTEU academic casuals conference in Melbourne on 4th and 5th December. This conference had a number of aims, including:

o Improving conditions for casual academic employees, including developing industrial claims for the upcoming collective bargaining round, and discussion strategies for improved job security for casuals.

o Further developing and increasing casual academic representation within the NTEU.

The conference provided casual delegates with opportunities to have input into developing bargaining claims for casuals, in 3 main areas: monetary issues, resources and collegiality, and career paths and job security. In relation to casual academic representation within the NTEU, a national casuals committee was established, with casual representatives from all divisions of the NTEU. This committee will have representation at the bargaining conference in February. At a meeting of conference delegates from the SA division, it was decided that Sigrid Christiansen from UniSA would be the division rep on the national casuals committee. In addition, it was decided to set up a division casuals committee, to be chaired by Sigrid, with a maximum of three casual members from each branch. These representatives would also sit on their respective branch committees. I agreed to be a casual representative on this committee for the Flinders branch.

Attending this conference was a useful, productive and enjoyable experience. It is encouraging that the NTEU are prioritising casual issues in the next round of collective bargaining, and it was good to be able to have input into bargaining discussions. The conference provided valuable opportunities to meet other casual NTEU members from branches and divisions across Australia, and to hear of strategies that other branches have developed for campaigning on issues facing casual academic staff. "

Katy Osborne (Casual NTEU Delegate, Flinders Branch)