UQ Email To Staff 7 May

From: owner-uqstaff@lists.uq.edu.au [mailto:owner-uqstaff@lists.uq.edu.au] On Behalf Of directorhr@uq.edu.au
Sent: Thursday, 7 May 2009 8:58 AM
To: uqstaff@lists.uq.edu.au
Subject: uqstaff Update on enterprise bargaining

 

Dear Colleagues
 

University management yesterday provided union officers and staff representatives with a financial briefing detailing UQ’s income and expenditure forecasts for this and the immediate coming years.  The briefing also covered in detail the impact of the broader financial crisis on UQ and our inability to reasonably and responsibly meet the unions’ claim of up to a 27% pay rise over 3 years. Financial security remains a key consideration for University management in 2009 and beyond. The key drivers, as we currently understand the broad economic and policy environment, include:

• Expenditure is set to exceed revenue over the next three years, with expenditure expected to increase by 6% - 8% over this period
• For the period 2010 – 2012 the Commonwealth Block Grant will grow by 2.1% while State government funding will decline during 2009.
• Any income from grants, bequests and capital funding arrangements remain as always tied to certain projects or activities and cannot be redirected
• Research overheads continue to be unmet by government grants
• There are no UQ investments or reserves which could fund operational expenditure
• Growth this year in student numbers is strong but is expected to level out at current numbers due in part to internal capacity constraints.
• The provision for employee entitlements such as annual leave and long service leave is estimated to increase by 9.8% in 2009. Similar increases are expected in 2010 – 2012.
  
  

The University remains committed to negotiations and has scheduled a meeting for late May when the Federal Budget situation will be known in detail.

A consolidated log of claims from unions, first discussed in November last year, was not delivered at yesterday’s meeting. We have however been provided with a compilation of union claims.  This list indicates some fundamental differences in positions between the Federation of General Staff Unions and the NTEU, which will need to be addressed in due course.

Staff will be kept informed of further developments.

 

Professor Alan Rix Pro-Vice Chancellor,
 

Mr Maurie McNarn AO, Executive Director, (Operations)