UNIVERSITY OF BALLARAT STAFF ACHIEVE NEW COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT
MEDIA RELEASE
29 June 2006
University of Ballarat staff have been finally rewarded for their long campaign with the in-principle finalisation of a new collective Enterprise Agreement that includes major improvements over the Australian Workplace Agreement (AWA) offered by management in December 2005.
The new Enterprise Agreement guarantees salary increases of 18% by March 2008, and an increase to 26 weeks’ paid maternity leave. The AWA guaranteed salary increases of only 13.5% by March 2009, and increased paid maternity leave to 14 weeks.
In addition, staff covered by the Enterprise Agreement will receive a sign-on bonus that averages to $3,027 across all levels, while staff who signed an AWA received back pay that averaged to $1,569 across all levels.
The new Agreement also maintains appeal rights for disciplinary processes and transparent provisions for classification issues. These employment conditions were removed from the AWA.
(See the Briefing Note below for a comparison between the Enterprise Agreement and the AWA.)
NTEU Victorian Division Secretary Matthew McGowan today said “It is important to recognise that the University management, after initially pursuing an aggressive AWA course, realised the importance of dealing fairly with their staff. I want to congratulate the University on finally sitting down and working through the issues with the NTEU. It was a change of course that has helped set the University back on track and paves the way for improved relations with the staff.”
“This outcome clearly demonstrates why staff are members of their union, and why collective bargaining is so important to ordinary working people. It will protect staff from the worst excesses of the government’s new IR laws, and is a slap in the face for the government’s claim that employees will be better off under individual contracts.”
“UB staff can now fully concentrate on their core business – providing a world-class education for the Ballarat and regional communities.”
NTEU University of Ballarat Branch President Dr Jeremy Smith said that “Today’s outcome could not have been achieved without the commitment, determination and discipline of union members sustaining a long and hard-fought campaign over the last two years, in very difficult circumstances.”
“I want to congratulate everyone on what we have achieved.”
Negotiators from the three unions will recommend acceptance of the in-principle Agreement to members at meetings to be held in the next week.
For further information and comment:
Matthew McGowan 0417 054 110
Dr Jeremy Smith 0429 334 938
BRIEFING NOTE
UNIVERSITY OF BALLARAT – NEW COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT
29 June 2006
The new collective Enterprise Agreement is significantly better than the Australian Workplace Agreement (AWA) offered by UB management in December 2005, and the non-union agreements rejected by staff in ballots in October and November 2005.
|
Enterprise Agreement |
Rejected non-union agreement / AWA |
|
|
Salary Outcomes |
18% guaranteed salary increase to cover period July 2003 to March 2008. Staff covered by this Agreement will be paid a ‘sign-on’ bonus that averages to $3,027 across all levels. |
13.5% guaranteed salary increase. A further 4.5% salary increase contingent on revenue outcomes. Total salary increases to cover period July 2003 to March 2009. Staff who entered into an AWA received back pay that averaged to $1,569 across all levels. |
|
Maternity Leave |
26 weeks’ paid leave |
14 weeks’ paid leave |
|
Genuine Choice |
Agreement includes clause giving staff a genuine choice between the Enterprise Agreement and an AWA. |
No “genuine choice” clause in the AWA. |
|
Staff Representation |
Agreement establishes a committee comprising management, staff and union representatives, to oversee the Agreement’s implementation and related matters. |
AWA establishes a Staff Forum, with the Vice-Chancellor to choose who will represent staff from a pool of elected staff representatives. |
|
Disciplinary processes |
Maintenance of appeal rights for misconduct and performance issues. |
Appeal rights for misconduct and disciplinary processes removed from the AWA. |
|
Classification processes |
Maintenance of transparent and fair processes for dealing with classification issues. |
Processes for dealing with classification issues removed from the AWA and covered by (non-binding) University policy. |
|
Other improvements |
Broadbanding for IT Officers. Time In Lieu of up to 36 hours may be paid as overtime to staff at HEW 8 level. |
These improvements not included in the AWA. |
There will now be three different employment instruments covering University of Ballarat staff:
-
the new collective Enterprise Agreement
(‘post-WorkChoices’)
-
AWAs entered into before 27 March 2006
(‘pre-WorkChoices’)
- AWAs entered into after 27 March 2006 (‘post-WorkChoices’)
Staff who signed an AWA under the old IR laws (‘pre-WorkChoices’) will be able to revert to the collective Enterprise Agreement when the AWA expires.
Once the new Enterprise Agreement is lodged, staff who signed an AWA under the new IR laws (‘post-WorkChoices’) will NOT be able to revert to the new Enterprise Agreement, but will revert to the five minima contained in the new Act.
The NTEU has proposed as part of a settlement of the Class Action currently underway in the Federal Court that staff who may have been misled about the AWAs should be given the option to return to the Enterprise Agreement. The University is currently refusing to consider this option.
The NTEU has sought a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor to discuss the various options for staff covered by AWAs.