Landmark case on university enterprise agreements in Federal Court
4 July 2001
The Federal Court in Sydney will tomorrow begin hearing the NTEU\'s case that the University of Wollongong breached its Academic Enterprise Agreement when it sacked Dr Ted Steele in February this year.
Dr Steele was sacked on the spot by the Vice-Chancellor after he made public criticisms of assessment procedures in his department. NTEU alleges that the Vice-Chancellor\'s actions constituted not only a breach of the university\'s agreement with staff, but also an attack on intellectual freedom.
NTEU President Dr Carolyn Allport said that the case had serious implications for university staff members around the country.
`The University of Wollongong Enterprise Agreement sets out procedures that should be followed when an academic is accused of serious misconduct. These procedures, which include the convening of a committee and the hearing of allegations, serve to protect staff from arbitrary or unfair punishment. The NTEU alleges that in Dr Steele\'s case, the Vice-Chancellor chose to ignore these procedures.\'
`If university employers choose to ignore the provisions of enterprise agreements, then it casts doubt over the entire bargaining process. If university employers choose to punish staff whose statements they don\'t like without reference to agreed disciplinary procedures, then it threatens silencing academics everywhere,\' she said.
`While the legal outcome of this case is obviously important, the court is not the only arena in which this matter should be considered. The right of all university staff to due process, and the commitment of universities to promoting freedom of speech and debate without recourse to arbitrary punishments, is a matter for university governing bodies around the country.
`We will be calling on all university governing bodies to affirm their commitment to these principles in the coming months.\'
A media doorstop will be held outside the Federal Court, Sydney, at 9.00am tomorrow. Speakers: Celia Bevan, NTEU NSW President, and Hon. Dr Meredith Burgmann, NSW Legislative Council.