NTEU to Protest at Charles Sturt Uni Council Meeting
Monday, 4 April 2005
The CSU Branch of the National Tertiary Education Union today called on its members to join in a protest rally outside the University Council meeting in Wagga Wagga on Tuesday 5th April between 8.30am and 10.30am.
The council meeting is being held in the University Council Room (Building 480) David Asimus Court (formerly known as the Executive Centre) off Valder way on the Agriculture Campus of the University.
“This is an action in support our request for management to return to the negotiation table and finalise our long delayed Enterprise Agreement through a period of intensive bargaining” said CSU Branch President Kevin Poynter.
“It is not industrial action and in no way will disadvantage students” Mr. Poynter said.
“Instead it is an opportunity for us to make our case to the university management in a non-industrial way. Hopefully management will listen and we will not be forced to take industrial action in the forms of stop work meetings, marking bans, strike and the like” said Mr. Poynter.
Mr. Poynter explained that “CSU’s last Enterprise Agreement between the unions representing academic and general staff expired almost two years ago. Since then some progress has been made towards forming a new agreement but CSU management has now called off bargaining”.
“Enterprise Agreements are not just about salaries. Instead they cover a whole raft of other issues dealing with every aspect of working conditions. Though we have reached or were getting close to agreement on most clauses management is resisting a fair salary deal and other matters such as the inclusion of equity issues and an appeals mechanism for staff on the standard CSU three year probationary contract, which in effect allows the University to summarily dismiss staff” Mr. Poynter said.
“So we are calling on the University to commit to a program of intensive bargaining to resolve all outstanding items as a matter of urgency. Our protest action at the Council Meeting will make CSU councillors aware of the degree of staff frustration at management’s poor track record over enterprise bargaining” said Mr. Poynter.
Further Information: Kevin Poynter, NTEU CSU Branch President, on 0400 374 582