National Stopwork called for 1 April National Day of Action
18 February 1998
The National Executive of the NTEU has unanimously endorsed a national Stopwork to take place as part of the joint staff/student National Day of Action on 1 April.
\"Staff and students will stand together on 1 April in defending the higher education system. This is the next stage in the long fight for a well funded, public education system which serves the needs of the community. We will continue to stand together in ensuring that higher education is recognised as a high priority by the community\", Mr McCulloch said.
\"Central to the Union’s demands is the immediate need for the Government to supplement funding to institutions to meet the cost of wage rises. It is absolutely essential that this is introduced prior to the next round of enterprise bargaining. If adequate indexation is not implemented, the deleterious effects on the higher education system will be significant\", NTEU General Secretary, Grahame McCulloch said.
\"Stopwork meetings will take place all around the country, which will be followed by rallies in most major cities. The NTEU is currently working with student organisations in every state and territory to ensure that 1 April sends a clear message to the Government and the broader community\", Mr McCulloch said.
\"The Government must recognise that our fight will not go away. We will continue to oppose regressive policy changes and secure sustainable salary justice for our members. In a climate of increasing workloads for university staff and the loss of jobs at institutions all around the country there can be no doubt that the Government must act immediately to create a public education system which is both high quality and accessible- sustainable salary justice is integral to this mission\", Mr McCulloch concluded.