By Marina Cameron
Vice-chancellors and the National Tertiary Education and Industry Union (NTEU) joined forces before the budget to demand supplementary funding for a long-awaited pay rise for academics and general staff. Since the budget came down, minus any supplementary funding, the divisions in this alliance have become clearer, allowing the Liberals to gain valuable mileage.
Most VCs have accepted cuts to operating grants, and that money for any pay rise will have to be found within the university. All but two VCs have supported the Coalition's proposed workplace relations bill, saying it will allow a "flexibility" in staff employment and placement that will be needed to compete in the increasingly market-driven university sector.
Many VCs have also supported increased HECS, student fees and other revenue-raising measures to offset the cuts, while the union has generally remained supportive of the campaign against these by students.
The Liberals have wholeheartedly pushed these views amongst the VCs, while smugly counting the benefits of a split between VCs and the union.
This has been backed by a media campaign against the NTEU, putting pressure on the union to soften its position on the pay rise and to accept the bargaining away of working conditions and jobs as negotiations are carried out campus by campus. It also pressures the union to support increased fees for students in order to fund the pay rise.
The media have focused particularly on the issue of tenure, describing it as a system of "privilege" for academics who selfishly want to remain sheltered from the market, and one which "discriminates" against women.
The reality is that tenure is little more than the sort of permanent work provided in the public service and is enjoyed by less than half of academics. Representation of women in tenured arrangements is less than men, but maintaining permanent jobs can hardly be seen as discriminating against women. Staff wages have been in long-term decline, and academics already face problems of overwork due to overcrowding. This will increase as universities are pushed to squeeze more out of employees and compete for student numbers.
"Staff demands for better pay and working conditions are intrinsically tied to the campaign against increased student charges, cuts to public funding and quality education", Nick Soudakoff, the Education Action Group's candidate for Student Association president at ANU, told Green Left Weekly. "Most VCs are playing the government's game by the government's rules. We need to pressure them to come out against the cuts and support the campaigns of students and staff. Meanwhile, the alliance between students and staff should be maintained."