NTEU wins higher education coverage in landmark ruling
15 November 1999
In a landmark ruling, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission has granted an application by the National Tertiary Education Industry Union (NTEU) for union coverage of general (non-academic) staff in all Australian universities.
The NTEU currently has coverage of academic staff throughout higher education, but was until now limited to covering general staff at only half of Australia’s 38 universities.
The Decision by Senior Deputy President Williams is the first significant test of the coverage provisions of the Workplace Relations Act, which were amended in 1996.
The Decision, which grants about 30,000 general staff the right to choose to join the NTEU, was strongly opposed by the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) and Australian Services Union (ASU), which retain some members in the industry.
NTEU General Secretary Grahame McCulloch hailed the outcome as a great victory for university staff.
\"This now gives all university staff a real choice about union membership. As one of the few unions in Australia whose membership is growing, we see this as a great opportunity to lift the level of union density in higher education\".
\"This decision will not be welcomed by Mr Reith, who has recently targeted higher education, and the NTEU in particular, as part of his programme to reduce the working conditions of employees, and attack collective rights to union representation\".
\"Now the NTEU can get on with the job of uniting all university staff to protect higher education and achieve salary justice\".