NEW WORKPLACE REQUIREMENTS NO THREAT TO COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT MAKING
May 9, 2006
New Union Collective Agreements between the University of Western Australia and the National Tertiary Education Union were signed yesterday and are expected to be lodged with the Office of the Employment Advocate within 14 days.
Grahame McCulloch, NTEU General Secretary, said that ‘these Agreements, the first in the university sector lodged since WorkChoices, prove the union’s continued ability to secure Commonwealth Grants Scheme (CGS) funding for universities through amicably reaching collective agreements.”
“As the Agreement has been reviewed by DEST and deemed compliant with the Higher Education Workplace Relations Requirements (HEWRR), and also vetted by the Office of the Employment Advocate, the University of Western Australia and its staff can now rest easy in the knowledge that it should secure the CGS funding increase of 5% this year and 7.5% in following years.”
“Furthermore, the UWA Agreements provide for a 23 - 24.5% salary increase over 5 years, 36 weeks paid parental leave, targets for Indigenous employment, protection of intellectual freedom and job security, comprehensive processes for classification and genuine choice for staff about whether they wish to accept an AWA,” Mr McCulloch continued.
“The Australian Higher Education Industrial Association (AHEIA) has commented that the revised HEWRRs mean universities now have ‘unlimited choice’ in relation to their employment arrangements. This triumphalism about choice masks AHEIA’s real position: that genuine choice should be removed, and staff put on individual AWAs.”
“AHEIA is placing extreme ideology ahead of the practical concerns of its members. Universities know that the easiest and most efficient path to securing HEWRR compliance and CGS funding remains achieving a union collective agreement with the NTEU.”
“We look forward to finalising union collective agreements with the remaining university employers by the August 2006 deadline so that universities and our members can all get on with their core business of research and scholarship,” Mr McCulloch concluded.
For further comment contact:
Grahame McCulloch, NTEU General Secretary, (02) 9212 5433
Eleanor Floyd, NTEU National Industrial Coordinator, (03) 9254 1910
Sandra Penrose, UWA NTEU Branch President, (08) 6488 2082