University Staff: Sick, Stressed and Too Busy to Talk About It
4 July 2001
NTEU members at the University of Sydney have welcomed the staging of a major occupational health & safety conference at their workplace, but many will be unable to attend because of excessive workloads.
NTEU Branch President, Dr Bronwyn Winter, said that health and safety has become a major issue for Sydney University staff, with overcrowded lectures, day long queues in front of faculty offices, irritated students, long working hours and high student: staff ratios - so much so that most staff don\'t even have time to complain about it.
\"We raised these concerns with the university management in March of this year, and are still awaiting a response. This shows singular contempt by the university management for the health and welfare of its staff and students. There is a human cost to health and safety and it is increasing. University managements cannot continue to ignore this.\"
NTEU National President, Dr Carolyn Allport, said that a number of recent studies had highlighted excessive workloads and stress as having the capacity to undermine teaching quality, and that university staff health is threatened.
\"Our own research, as well as that published by the Federal Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, indicates that university staff work excessive hours and are under enormous pressure. Data from a study of stress among university staff indicates that they are twice as likely as members of the general population to suffer stress-related health effects, and three times as likely to suffer severe effects. All of these findings point to a need for urgent action.\"
\"Everyone in the education sector, as well as all levels of government, need to be active in addressing these issues. The organisers of this conference have missed the opportunity to concentrate on the growing body of research into this area. This is the number one health and safety issue in universities, and is driving falling morale, and decreased job satisfaction.\"
Dr Allport concluded by saying that health and safety issues in universities have the capacity to undermine the contribution which universities make to community life.
\"Our communities demand a great deal of universities, and employers have a responsibility to meet that community need. The first step is to recognise that the greatest resource that universities have is their staff. Unless issues of stress and workloads are resolved, our communities and our students will undoubtedly be worse off.\" Dr Allport concluded.
The NTEU Sydney University Branch will conduct a media conference at 10.30am, July 4, to coincide with the AVCC Occupational Health & Safety Conference being held at Sydney University. A briefing paper which details the findings of research into workloads and stress among university staff will be released. (pdf)
Media Conference Details
Venue: NTEU Sydney University Office, Transient building, room 214.
Time: 10.30am
Spokespeople: Dr Bronwyn Winter, President, NTEU University of Sydney Branch
Greg McConville, Policy & Research Officer, NTEU National Office