The Union for General Staff?
Isn’t the NTEU just for academic staff?
No. In fact, the NTEU has the most general staff members nationally of any union working in the higher education sector. The NTEU was formed in 1993 by the amalgamation of five tertiary education unions, two of which were academic staff based and three that were general staff based.
From the outset, the NTEU considered itself to be an industry union. However, it was not until 1999 that the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) ruled that the NTEU could cover general staff in NSW. From that time we have gone from strength to strength and are now truly the industry union.
What is the benefit of having an industry union?
The NTEU works only in the higher education sector so you can be assured that every cent that you pay in membership dues is spent in the sector in which you work.
One of the advantages of an industry union is that it assists in removing the artificial division between academic staff and general staff that management has used in the past to pay different wages and conditions. Having all employees of the same university in the same union leads to greater strength.
Senior Deputy President Williams, AIRC said in his decision giving the NTEU the right to represent general staff:
“The NTEU’s demonstrated competence in representing the industrial interests of its existing general staff members, its enterprise based structure, the extent of its expertise and resources and its focus on the tertiary education industry are all factors which convince me that it is an organisation that is capable of effectively and adequately representing the industrial and other interests of all general staff. That capacity is not compromised by the fact that it also represents academic staff. Nor, in reality, does the evidence disclose that NTEU’s representation of academic staff has disadvantaged the interests of its general staff members. Indeed, in my view, the so-called “cultural divide” that is said to exist between academic staff and general staff is essentially a fiction and certainly, on the evidence, without foundation.”
Aren’t there more academics than general staff?
General staff account for 40% of the NTEU membership nationally. In NSW the proportion of general staff membership in each branch varies with some Branches having close to a 50-50 split. General staff are represented on all Branch Committees and the
Isn’t the NTEU too expensive?
The NTEU has a percentage based membership fee which at UoW is 1.06% of gross salary. We believe this is a fairer payment method as the less you earn, the less you pay. It also means that members who work on a fractional basis are not required to pay the same amount as someone who works full-time. We also have flat rate fees for casuals ranging from $55-110 per year. And remember, union fees are tax deductible!
I am concerned that my boss is in the same union. Won’t the NTEU stick up for her if we have a problem?
Most general staff have other general staff rather than an academic as their supervisor, for example in the library, personnel, ITS and buildings and grounds.
Having supervisors or more senior staff in the same union is the case in most unions.
The NTEU is careful to draw a distinction between dealing with someone in their capacity as a member and dealing with a member in their capacity as a supervisor – regardless of who they are or what work they do. If two union members with any conflict between each other – whether in a supervisory relationship or not, whether academic or general staff – seek assistance, they will be assigned separate case handlers to ensure that both have access to advice from their Union.
Aren’t academic and general staff too different to be in the same union?
We believe there is strength in having all staff in the same union, whether you are general staff or academic as it is stronger to campaign together. We have found from years of bargaining that where all staff take industrial action together and campaign together the outcomes are better for all staff.
Where there are different concerns or issues then these can be reflected in different clauses in an Agreement – overtime pay, classification system, different pay scales - however, the majority of conditions are the same for both groups of staff.
We have campaigned hard to ensure that where the conditions are better for academic staff (redundancy pay, discipline procedures, ill health termination rights, the right to speak out about issues, etc.) that these are provided to general staff too.
Won’t a single agreement disadvantage general staff?
On the contrary, the more members covered by an agreement, the greater the collective strength, and the more pressure that can be put on management. In NSW 5 out of the 10 Universities have single agreements which cover all staff. Having one agreement covering all staff has been an effective tool for us to campaign for general staff to have no less in their pay rises than academics and to improve many general staff conditions that had been traditionally inferior.