NTEU/UQASA President’s Report 2006/07
This period has been overshadowed by the effects of the Federal Government’s workplace relations legislation and its sector-specific variant, the Higher Education Workplace Relations Requirements (HEWRRs), as well as by the effects of continued underfunding of higher education. We have succeeded in maintaining our capacity to act collectively on behalf of members despite these challenges. The next twelve months will be of decisive importance for universities in Australia, especially in so far as the rights of university staff are concerned.
Industrial developments
In August 2006, the Academic Enterprise Agreement was amended, after talks taking some months, to make it compliant with the Federal Government’s requirements (HEWRRs). The General Staff Agreement had already been changed and resubmitted in 2005. The Government’s requirements included greater “flexibility” for management, and a dilution of union representation in university processes (including on committees which only existed because the union had negotiated them in its collective agreements). With the able leadership of State Secretary Howard Guille as lead negotiator, we believe we were able to retain as much protection of staff rights as was possible within the process imposed by DEST (who threatened to withdraw a proportion of university funding if the university did not comply). In particular, we successfully resisted pressure from management to delete the clause stipulating that the university had to offer “genuine choice” between the collective agreement and Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs). (DEST required that the university offer AWAs to new and existing staff.)
The take-up of AWAs by UQ staff, as elsewhere in the public university sector, has been minimal. Most staff, even if they are not union members, have preferred the superior protections of the collective agreement.
As a result of HEWRRs, the union has had to run candidates for certain university committees. These committees had previously been joint uion-management committees, whose operations were governed by the collective agreements. The purpose of the elections was not to increase workplace democracy – government-mandated changes to the Senate had already resulted in a reduction of staff and student representation on the Senate – but to attempt to dilute the role of the union. The relevant committees were the General and Academic Staff Consultative Committees (GSCC and ASCC) and the General and Academic Standing Committees on Change Management. Thanks to the support of members, all elections to these important committees have resulted in the election of union candidates (although we have to share the General Staff bodies with the other unions with coverage of general staff).
Restructures
The Standing Committees on Change Management are crucial because of the regularity with which restructures occur at UQ. Since 1997, there have been 41 restructures with a total of over 500 positions being made redundant. In 2006/07 we have seen major restructures in the NRAVS faculty (Ag. & Hort., and Land and Food Sciences) and in the School of ITEE, with significant job losses in each, as well as an ongoing restructure in Student Support Services. In addition to serving on the change management committees for these, we have conducted numerous meetings in the affected areas, consulted with staff, and sought to get the best possible outcome for members under the circumstances.
CampaignsWe are re-launching our “Fair Shares” campaign with a forum on internal university funding distribution on 22 May. While the financial difficulties experienced by many schools and other elements within the university stem in the first instance from chronic government underfunding for over ten years, we believe these difficulties have been exacerbated by the extent of “top-slicing” off school and faculty budgets to pay for the Vice-Chancellor’s “strategic” projects. This is an issue worth raising, especially this year.
The NTEU, on the National and state (Division) levels, has also been actively supporting the ACTU’s Your Rights at Work campaign. The NTEU is not affiliated with any political party, but is campaigning actively against the Federal Government’s industrial relations legislation, which is designed to make collective bargaining increasingly difficult, and gives all the advantages to the employer/ management side. If the Federal Government is re-elected, the industrial relations environment will only get worse, especially for the higher education sector. Any future additional federal government funding for universities under this government would almost certainly be linked to a further push to de-unionize universities and to further diminish staff rights.
PersonnelMy thanks to all the active committee members and delegates for their work over the past year. Thanks in particular to Vice-Presidents Trevor Appleton (Academic), Lachlan Window (General), Secretary Chris Diamond and Treasurer Matt Hardin. Michael McNally has given sterling service as Branch Organizer. He is currently on a period of parental leave until later this year, and Michael Carden, who has previously done recruitment work for the NTEU at UQ, is ably filling in in his absence.
Lachlan, Chris, Matt and I are Division and National councillors for the NTEU, taking part in the annual National Council meetings and the more regular state meetings, and I was elected Queensland Division President and member of the NTEU National Executive late last year, giving us input into the top level of the union’s national organisation.
Many thanks also to the former State Secretary, Howard Guille, for all his outstanding work for the UQ Branch. Thanks also to Howard’s successor, Margaret Lee, and the other Division staff who have rendered great assistance at UQ: Division Organizer Ross Gwyther, Industrial Officers Bill Danby and Angela Scheers, and Campaign Organizer Barb Williams.
Andrew Bonnell, Branch President