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UniSA NTEU Media Release: University of South Australia Staff Stop Work

Posted 2 August 2010 by Juliet Fuller (SA Division)

On Monday 2 August 2010 NTEU members at the University of South Australia will begin the first phase of an industrial campaign in the form of University-wide two hour rolling stoppages of work for a five day period.

 “The motion recommending this course of action has been overwhelmingly endorsed by NTEU members over the past week. Enterprise bargaining has been underway for more than 18 months at the University of South Australia and cannot be brought to a reasonable close despite the NTEU’s best efforts. Industrial action will escalate during the coming weeks unless agreement can be reached”, said Kevin Rouse, NTEU Branch President.

 “The Howard Government’s industrial legislation is gone but its legacy lives on in the University of South Australia Collective Agreement 2006 and will do so until a new and proper Agreement is negotiated. The move towards industrial action has not been taken lightly. We have tried all other options”, he continued.

 “The NTEU campaign is premised on ensuring a high quality, well resourced University. This must include job security and competitive salaries for staff. The workloads of University staff are also a key matter for negotiation. The student community expects a certain contribution from and level of access to academic staff. The constant creep in academic workloads makes it increasingly difficult for staff to meet what are very reasonable student expectations”.

 “Inadequate resources for teaching will have an inevitable and negative impact on the educational experience of students. Staff have consistently worked overload in order to minimise this impact but cannot do so indefinitely and feel it is now time to collectively voice their concerns”.

 “NTEU members regret the disruption this action will cause to students and will liaise closely with the student community to minimise the impact. We will continue to discuss with students the strong connection between the aims of this industrial campaign and maintenance of a quality student learning environment”, concluded Mr Rouse.

For further information please contact:

Kevin Rouse: NTEU Branch President on 0400 251 897

Ted Murphy: NTEU National Assistant Secretary on 0419 517 288