Workforce
campusreview . com . au
‘ Undervalued ’
University admin staff say they are burnt out .
By Eleanor Campbell
Professional university staff say they facing “ crisis ” levels of stress and workload in the wake of rolling university restructures and backand-forth contract negotiations with academics .
In May , thousands of university staff walked off their jobs as part of an ongoing wave of industrial action across Australia ’ s tertiary sector .
Staff from five Victorian universities gathered in Melbourne as part of a coordinated strike for reduced casualisation and higher pay .
Chloe Mackenzie , a professional staff member from the University of Melbourne and an NTEU branch vice president , was among them .
“ It ’ s been really , really tough ,” she told Campus Review .
“ There is a constant workload shift every time something happens , and the work has certainly increased to try and meet those challenges , but staffing is lower than ever .”
According to Mackenzie , admin teams have struggled to keep up with work leftover from staff who either resigned or were made redundant during Covid-19 .
Paired with the fallout of two major university wage theft cases and a rapid shift to online learning , essential university support workers have “ reached their limit ”, she said .
“ It ’ s not a simple thing of just pushing back because if professional staff don ’ t do our jobs , students suffer , academics suffer , our other professional staff colleagues suffer .
“ I think we will see mass movement of professional staff elsewhere , potentially outside the university sector , because I think so many just can ’ t do it anymore .”
Non-academic staff make up roughly 56 per cent of Australia ’ s tertiary workforce , according to the most recent federal higher education data .
During Covid-19 professional staff accounted for the majority of job cuts made by universities , with full-time equivalent numbers dropping by 73,620 in 2020 to 66,907 in 2021 .
Katie Wood , who has worked in the library at the University of Melbourne for 15 years , said workload issues were exacerbated after the university cut 540 administrative jobs back in 2014 .
Library staff from the University of Melbourne . Picture : Supplied .
“ I know personally many dedicated , expert colleagues who lost their jobs when the work still needed to be done ,” she said .
“ Those of us who remain feel undervalued , like we ’ re just treated as a burden to be overcome .”
A spokesperson from Melbourne University said the university was “ committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for all staff and students .” “ Workload is actively and fairly managed through provisions set out in the enterprise agreement including opportunity for review ,” they said .
“ Health and wellbeing is and always will be a major priority for the University of Melbourne .” ■
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