Jon Lamb, Darwin
After 14 months of drawn-out negotiations with Charles Darwin University management over pay and conditions, unions covering academic and general staff are taking action to improve the lot of their members. On September 15, staff rallied at the university amphitheatre to hear from National Tertiary Education Union and Australian Education Union (AEU) officials.
NTEU organiser Mark Wheeler told the rally that CDU management was refusing to budge on its offer of a 10% wage increase and that it would not accept the unions' claim for 15%. A 10% pay rise would make CDU employees the lowest-paid university staff in the country.
Wheeler also said that staff are suffering intolerable work loads and putting in many hours of unpaid overtime, seriously undermining their ability to provide quality education and support to students.
CDU's executive director Scott Snyder has denounced the union campaign, claiming that CDU cannot afford the wage increase due to a $10 million blow-out from its TAFE budget last year. Wheeler told staff at the rally that Snyder has been forced to back away from this claim, as it doesn't hold up to closer scrutiny.
The rally was timed to coincide with the start of a course information night at CDU. Vice-Chancellor Helen Garnett sent a provocative email to all staff earlier in the day condemning the union action, alleging that it would damage the university's reputation and turn potential students away, which in turn would mean the university "will not achieve the increase in revenue necessary to provide salary increases".
"Helen doesn't value the important role that staff play at CDU", Wheeler told Green Left Weekly. "If she was genuine and honest and concerned about future and current students she would be putting a realistic pay offer on the table, not the pathetic 10%. This offer means that in some cases there will be up to $10,000 difference in wages between somebody doing one job here and a similar position on the eastern seaboard."
In response to the intransigence of CDU management, unions and staff have vowed to take further industrial action. The NTEU and AEU have placed advertisements in the media about the problems at CDU and more generally for education throughout the Northern Territory. Campaign stalls have been held in Palmerston and Darwin.
"The campaign is gaining momentum ... people are really starting to get sick of what's happening and voicing their concerns", Wheeler said.
"This has been reflected in the amount of people that have joined the union since this campaign has started ... along with the numerous concerns that are raised with me. I would average probably about 10 to 15 emails a day from staff just wanting to vent their frustration with the additional workload. With the 42 redundancies just over 12 months ago, staff picked up the extra workload and now they are being given a second slap in the face by being offered the smallest pay increase in Australia."
Wheeler stressed that all attempts would be made not to adversely affect students at CDU. The CDU student union and the Education Action Collective have expressed support for the campaign.
From Green Left Weekly, September 22, 2004.
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