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ON CAMPUS
Permanent problem
It ’ s high time for universities to end their reliance on exploitative casual labour .
Digital ‘ sit in ’ at Newcastle University opposes job cuts and insecure work .
By Wade Zaglas
The National Tertiary Education Union ( NTEU ) held a 12-hour digital sit-in at the University of Newcastle in early November to shine a light on “ the scale of insecure work at universities ” and what it believes is the faulty legislation that allows the situation to get worse .
Of the 2,300 letters sent to the university by staff seeking conversion to ongoing employment , the NTEU reported that only five were converted , despite an amendment to the Fair Work Act earlier this year which it was hoped would increase the number of permanent , ongoing staff in universities .
Speakers who took part in the digital sit-in included NTEU National President Dr Alison Barnes , ACTU secretary Sally McManus , Senator Tony Sheldon , Senator Mehreen Faruqi , Senator Deb O ’ Neill and
NSW Teachers Federation President Angelo Gavrielatos .
In addition to hearing from the abovementioned speakers , much of the digital sit-in was dedicated to the reading of bureaucratic emails sent to current and former staff who were denied ongoing , secure employment .
Emma Joel , a member of the NTEU Newcastle Branch , kicked off the proceedings by drawing attention to the unfairness of many Australian universities ’ casual conversion outcomes .
“ Management at universities across Australia sent a raft of emails to their casually employed staff . It refused to offer them permanent jobs , seemingly regardless of their regularity of work , experience or qualifications , or how long they had been working for their employer ,” she said .
Joel added that “ casual colleagues at Australian universities play a crucial role in the tertiary sector broadly , in the operations of the institution and in the coalface delivery of education to students across the country ”.
A letter written by vice-chancellor and president of the university Professor Alex Zelinsky was also read during the sitin , expressing regret at the tone of the conversion application outcomes .
“ I ’ ve heard from a number of our casual and sessional colleagues the last few days regarding the communication of casual conversion outcomes ,” he said .
“ It is clear that the tone of the emails sent to you on the 27th of September was unnecessarily bureaucratic and terse .
“ Our sessional staff make a significant contribution to our institution , and I apologise that you received an email on Monday evening that did not convey that .”
New South Wales Teachers Federation President Angelo Gavrielatos began by making a comparison between school unions and tertiary ones , adding that the fight for secure employment is crucial .
“ Your struggle for permanent , secure work , is our struggle ,” he said .
“ Over the last seven years we ’ ve seen a dramatic increase in precarious employment , such that 30 per cent of teachers now are employed on a temporary basis – 30 per cent .”
Gavrielatos stated that the situation at TAFE was dramatically worse , with 70 cent of trainers employed on a temporary , precarious basis .
Secretary of the NTEU ( NSW ) Branch Damien Cahill said during the sit-in that “ it ’ s high time – in fact it ’ s well overdue – for universities to end their reliance on exploitative casual labour ”.
“ The problem is university managers are addicted to it , and they ’ re not going to give up without a fight .”
NTEU President Dr Alison Barnes told the sit-in that this year the education union told Minister Tudge that the conversion legislation would not work , “ yet the government chose to ignore that advice ”.
“ However , we are not deterred . On the contrary , the work of NTEU rank and file members across the country , and others in the union movement , highlights the exploitation and wage theft of those that are precariously employed .” ■
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