NTEU delays strike action at UQ
By Robyn Marshall
BRISBANE — The University of Queensland branch of the National Tertiary Education Industry Union voted on February 8 to delay a 48-hour strike for a pay increase.
A few hours before the meeting was due to commence, the NTEU branch received a letter from the senior deputy vice-chancellor, Ted Brown, stating that the university management "were now in a position to resume negotiations with a view to reaching a compromise agreement in the current enterprise bargaining round".
The NTEU general meeting agreed that negotiations should recommence as soon as possible. Further consideration of industrial action will be delayed until the outcome of these negotiations was known.
Many NTEU members were suspicious of the commitment of the UQ management and its timing of the offer to negotiate. Many felt it was more likely motivated by the desire to avoid strike action and bad publicity in the first week of lectures.
UQ management did not stipulate an agenda, nor indicate which areas were up for negotiation. But it firmly maintains that education minister David Kemp's conditions be adhered to in any agreement — Kemp hopes to make the union ineffective.
A further union general meeting will convene on February 17, when the executive will be required to outline progress made in the resumed negotiations.
The NTEU have been negotiating an enterprise bargaining agreement for over 12 months. UQ management has made an offer of 10% over three years, which is very low when compared to the University of Sydney where staff have been offered 16% over three and a half years.