news
Union action withholds exam results
Student exam results are hostages in the National Tertiary Education Union’ s fight for fairer pay and work conditions. By Antonia Maiolo
Thousands of university students across Victoria won’ t get their exam results, thanks to the ongoing pay dispute between staff unions and university management.
Teaching staff from Monash and Deakin University are the latest in a long line of academics across the state that are banning the release of students’ assessment marks. RMIT and Swinburne universities were among the first to announce bans on issuing exam results.
The National Tertiary Education Union calling for a seven per cent pay increase annually over four years will ban the transmission of results. The NTEU has also imposed a ban on overtime for general staff and a ban on performance appraisal.
The union’ s industrial organiser for Monash, Stan Rosenthal said,“ We are doing this because... our members have indicated that it is time to increase pressure on the employer.”
Deakin University staff have also expressed concern that management is looking to reduce working conditions, including reducing overtime payments and weekend penalty rates and reducing the minimum casual hours a person can be employed.
Dr Colin Long, NTEU Victorian division secretary, said the union has indicated their willingness to negotiate over their pay claim but that they have not been met with a counter offer.“ We’ d rather not inconvenience students, but staff has met with management in good faith for eight months and have nothing to show for it. There isn’ t even a pay offer on the table.”
He said Deakin University is the most profitable university in Victoria and would be able to afford staff pay increases even with the‘ efficiency dividend’ recently imposed by the federal government.
Last financial year, Deakin boasted a $ 60 million surplus, $ 22 million greater than budgeted, which the vice-chancellor attributed to‘ underspends’ on salaries, research, buildings and ground costs, Long said.
But the university’ s vice-chancellor, professor Jane den Hollander said a seven per cent pay rise over four years would cost the university $ 120 million.
“ In light of recent budget cuts and slow growth in student enrolments, this is unaffordable,” den Hollander said.
She said to accommodate this cost increase would mean“ job losses”.
RMIT’ s refusal to commit to a new staff agreement which includes limits to the number of casual academics has the union imposing similar bans.
RMIT branch president Dr Melissa Slee said the union had spent 10 months attempting to negotiate a new collective agreement covering wages and conditions but RMIT continued to stall.
“ RMIT senior management has refused to even make a pay offer. This delay is unacceptable,” Slee said.
According to Slee, around 37 per cent of RMIT’ s academic staff is casual – the second highest rate in the sector nationally.
The university’ s deputy vice-chancellor professor Gill Palmer said the union’ s demands are“ unrealistic”, amidst declining international student numbers and major cuts to state and federal government funding. The salary boost of seven per cent a year amounts to a 31 per cent increase and would result in increased costs well above projected revenues over four years, Palmer said.
She said the unions log of claims amounts to more than 80 items and would cost RMIT at least an additional $ 240 million over four years.
Assessment bans have also left an estimated 55,000 students at Swinburne wondering when they will receive their exam marks from semester one.
In a message to staff, Swinburne vice-chancellor Linda Kristjanson said the actions imposed by the union are“ disproportionate and unjustified”.
Kristjanson said the university is facing financial pressure due to Commonwealth cuts which will take $ 8 million over the next years and is still reeling from the $ 35 million funding cut to TAFE last year which saw the closure of Swinburne’ s Lilydale and Prahran campuses.
NTEU Swinburne branch industrial officer Josh Cullinan said the failure of the vice-chancellor to“ treat her staff with respect” has led to the ban.
“ Even more serious than results bans are lengthy stoppages and strike action which would see students not taught.”
Cullinan said graduating students and students experiencing hardship will be exempt from the ban.
But it would seem others might be in for a longer wait. Cullinan said,“ Whilst the vice-chancellor refuses to treat negotiations seriously, it would appear the lifting of the ban is some way off.” ■
www. campusreview. com. au June 2013 | 5