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Workforce
‘ Step forward ’
University of Sydney reaches agreement with tertiary union .
By Emilie Lauer
Staff at the University of Sydney have voted to agree to a provisional enterprise agreement after nearly two years of bargaining , ending the longest-running strike campaign seen in any Australian university .
In April , nearly 700 union members voted in favour of a provisional enterprise agreement and to call off three days of planned strike action in May .
National Tertiary Education Union branch president Dr Nick Riemer said he was “ disappointed ” by the results .
“ After nine days of strike action , members felt that the wisest thing to do was to have an agreement with management ,” Dr Riemer told Campus Review .
“ Some members wanted to keep fighting , but we weren ’ t in the majority . The members voted , and I ’ m completely committed to enacting that decision that they have made .”
In total , 52 per cent of the union members voted to a provisional enterprise agreement with Sydney University management .
Under the deal , staff would receive a 17.1 per cent compounded pay increase over the life of the new agreement , plus a $ 2000 sign-on bonus .
The university would also de-casualise its workforce by 20 per cent and roll out 330 new permanent academic positions .
If signed , casual staff could access paid sick leave - a first for the Australian higher education sector .
Additional clauses include the protection of the 40 : 40 : 20 model of academic workload , additional pay leave for gender affirmation , parental , menopause and menstruation , a review of all staff ’ s workloads , and a more accessible flexible work arrangement .
The agreement is expected to be signed by early May .
“ The membership has accepted the agreement as negotiated in its entirety , except for two clauses on Indigenous parity and education-focused roles workload ,” Dr Riemer said .
“ There are now a lot of clauses that will have to be drafted , and until both sides are happy with all of the specifics we ’ re won ’ t be there yet .”
The NTEU is also demanding Indigenous employment parity by the end of the enterprise agreement in 2026 , which if agreed would see First Nation ’ s staff make up nearly four per cent of the university ’ s total workforce .
In 2021 , 80 Indigenous staff were employed at the University of Sydney out of 8145 staff .
Until both sides are happy with all of the specifics we ’ re won ’ t be there yet .
University of Sydney Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Annamarie Jagose said the vote result was “ a productive step forward ” even if an agreement hasn ’ t been signed yet .
“ The NTEU bargaining team informed the university that union members had resolved to accept the overall package as a basis for concluding negotiations , subject to additional refinements to enable in-principle agreement ,” Professor Jagose said .
“ Therefore , bargaining continued yesterday with the 39th EA meeting since negotiations began nearly two years ago in 2021 .
“ I am hopeful that agreement can be achieved in the interests of all staff .” ■
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