The Story So Far...
After eight months of negotiations into how contracts would be phrased, it had come to this, the Union had overwhelmingly voted in favour of strike action and the management knew strikes were imminent. So they relented; finally giving into a ceasefire and signging a ‘Memorandum of Understanding'. In this Understanding (and in good faith by the Union), the Union gave up the right to strike believing that management would only want to negotiate minor points in the contracts.
Yet, from left-field the management of Sydney Uni brought to the table a Flexibility Clause which is now mandatory under Fair Work Australia work-place agreements. What was assumed by the Union was that the Individual Flexibility Agreement (IFA) would only deal with relatively minor issues; as the Vice Chancellor Michael Spence wrote:
‘It would allow individual staff members to negotiate particular work arrangements (such as to work longer hours on some days in order to leave early on others to pick up children from school).'
Fully acceptable to the Union and something that is already possible in existing agreements. Yet, the agreements proved much more sinister and in actuality the clause gave much greater power to management to decide the essentials of life in a workplace. This includes flexibility to:
This clause; like Howard's AWAs, focuses on giving the staff the illusion of choice. Yes, you can choose to have holidays, yes, you can choose to have your superannuation paid at a lump sum on retirement day, but with a threat of redundancy how much choice do you actually have?
Can the Unions (or anyone for that matter) trust management not to push on people to ‘voluntarily' accept the provisos with fewer benefits? Obviously not; meaning that the severity of this clause is causing many within the Union to call for a branch election and a new round of strike actions.
What Next...?
At the moment in Australia, Federal Laws prevent industrial action that hasn't been voted for by the majority of the Branch of a Union. In effect this means that any decision to strike must be accompanied by weeks and weeks of planning, petitioning fellow members and then there's the costly exercise of trying to contact every member of the Union, wherever in the world they are.
This vote, like the last one which successfully called for strike action, is expected to cost $25,000, something the NTEU can afford, but as their coffers aren't bottomless they obviously can't call for strikes too often.
So as you can imagine, the decision to call a general meeting hasn't been done lightly, yet, those in USYD already appalled by the clause are gearing up for the fight, and are working to get their message heard to a wide audience in a variety of mediums.
For instance, a video is being made with help from HPD camera work which further details what an IFA is, and its danger to the workers of the University of Sydney. And we ask that you keep your eyes on this space for more information and news stories as we follow the fight.
Also, as we speak, other Universities nationally are going through or have just gone through similar negotiations on Enterprise Agreements with management. ANU and the University of Melbourne went through it, and the University of New South Wales is gearing up for its fight with the IFAs. Basically, we think it's unlikely that this Labor Government foresaw how these IFAs could be used and the workers are suffering for Rudd's ignorance.
What can you do?
If any affiliates from other Unions are interested in supporting the NTEU or working in parallel with them (especially when strike season rolls round) they should contact the organisers at the web-site.
For the students of Sydney Uni (and everywhere else in a few months) it's time to realise that you're the cash crop that the management love to farm; your silent submission in accepting what they have to offer your teaching staff will only lead to a worse environment for you. Basically, if you don't want this, which no one apart from a masochist would- then show your support for your teachers and...
Think this flexibility clause is a non-issue? This is just the beginning of a slippery slope that will only lead to:
A demoralised staff with less job security that then has less time for you
Crappier teaching quality as the teaching staff have to piss around with administrative duties
Larger courses, which means more tutorials, which means less face-to-face time with the lecturer
For parents of students, do the same things as talked about above. Because, the loss of this fight will affect you, and you can do something. And again, watch the video when it comes up.