Historic Strike at University of Melbourne
22 October 1999
Staff at the University of Melbourne were on strike yesterday (21 October) in protest at the failure of management to give adequate guarantees about pay and conditions in enterprise bargaining.
Victorian Division Assistant Secretary of the National Tertiary Education Union, Dr Michael Pegg said, \"Although there have been protest actions against government cuts in the past, this is the first time that all staff, academic and general, have taken strike action directed solely at the management of the University of Melbourne. It shows the level of dismay amongst staff at the approach taken by the University of Melbourne.\"
\"All campuses were affected by yesterday’s industrial action with most classes cancelled and services disrupted, particularly at the major Parkville and Burnley campuses.\" Dr Pegg said.
Dr Pegg said: \"It is disturbing that last week the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Gilbert, expressed support for some of Dr Kemp’s radical proposals for higher education, and this week the University has participated in a meeting of the \"Gang of Eight\" Universities which heard advice from Peter Reith about so-called workplace reform.\"
\"It is time for Professor Gilbert to come clean about whether he has done deals with the Federal Government for the further de-regulation and privatisation of university education and for further attacks on staff pay and conditions.\"