Ben Reid, Newcastle
A wave of disgust and some resignations from the National Tertiary Education Union have swept academic staff at the Newcastle University as a result of NTEU branch president Wayne Reynolds' support for increased HECS fees for students.
Reynolds, an elected academic staff representative on the university's governing council, voted at the March 5 council meeting in favour of raising HECS fees by the maximum allowable amount of 25%.
This was despite making a public commitment at an NTEU branch meeting on March 3 to vote against any fee increases, in line with the union's policy. The branch voted not to penalise students who would be protesting at the council meeting.
Reynolds' betrayal comes at a time when the university administration and the local NTEU branch are locked in negotiations over a new enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA). The administration placed considerable pressure on the branch leadership to accept increased tuition fees in return for salary increases.
At a meeting of the NTEU branch on March 11, Reynolds attempted to justify his action by reiterating and uncritically supporting management arguments that the university was in a perilous financial state.
He claimed that as a result of the fee increases, the university would be in a position to offer academic staff salary increases of as much as 18% over three years.
There was considerable criticism of Reynolds from the floor of the meeting. He was accused of a "betrayal of trust", and of arguing for a pay rise paid out of "bad money". Reynolds' main response was personal abuse of his critics and their history in the union movement.
NTEU NSW president Mike Donaldson opened the meeting and made no criticism of the Newcastle branch leadership. Instead, he warmly praised the proposed outcome of the EBA negotiations and called on members to focus their energies on supporting the ALP against the Coalition in this year's federal election.
The branch voted to meet again in two weeks to consider the administration's formal offer at the end of the EBA negotiations.
From Green Left Weekly, March 17, 2004.
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