The following article was published in "The Guardian", newspaper of the
Communist Party of Australia in its issue of Wednesday, October 1st,
2003. Contact address: 65 Campbell Street, Surry Hills. Sydney. 2010
Australia.
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Funding blackmail. Industrial uproar in universities
Australia's universities are seething with anger at the Howard
Government's latest industrial blackmail concerning university
industrial relations. The government has notified universities that
their access to an extra $414 million in funding will be conditional on
them introducing harsh new industrial relations practices.
by Peter Mac
Under the government's proposed new conditions for universities to
qualify for funding increases, all university employees would have to be
notified individually that they have "the option" of entering into
individual workplace agreements. In practice, this would take the form
of pressuring employees to abandon collective union agreements.
Universities would not be allowed to remind employees of the other
option, i.e. entering into collective bargaining agreements. Nor would
they be permitted to provide union membership forms or facilities for
union offices, including student unions.
The terms of individual agreements would override those of any
collective agreement.
Universities would not be permitted to place any limits on the number of
casual employment positions.
And in perhaps the most outrageous move of all, universities would not
be allowed to enter into any agreement that included arrangements in
excess of "community standards", i.e. anything better than a current
agreement in widespread use. For example, the requirement would prevent
acceptance by university authorities of improvements in redundancy payments.
If carried to its logical conclusion, this requirement would eliminate
any future improvements in working conditions for university employees.
The government's new edict was timed to forestall the introduction of a
new collective industrial relations agreement for Sydney University
employees. The agreement included provision for a limit to the number of
casual positions, and the introduction of 36 weeks of paid maternity
leave, both of which are in excess of "community standards".
Because of the government's move, Sydney University authorities have
postponed signing the collective agreement, and the University's
employees have voted to take industrial action in protest, including a
strike on October 6, the first day of the new term.
The agreement was widely expected to have been the forerunner for
negotiations on similar agreements at other universities. As a result of
the government's move and the university's response, all such
negotiations are now in jeopardy.
A number of universities previously caved in to pressure from the Howard
Government over other issues. The most notable case was that of Sydney
University, whose conservative senate voted recently to accept in
principle the raising of student fees by a maximum of 30 percent, in the
event that the government managed to get the necessary legislation
through Parliament.
However, even the most conservative university authorities have
expressed shock at the government's latest requirements, and opposition
to their introduction. Sydney University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor
Gavin Brown, said that he was taken by surprise at the extremity of the
government's new policies. He commented grimly:
"I have a fairly strong feeling that there will be universities that
will say that impact on the quality of education we can offer, if we are
forced to comply with these regulations, is not worth the money."
The executive Director of the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee,
John Mulharvey last week expressed doubts as to whether such iron
constraints were consistent with the government's own aim of fostering
"flexible and responsive" work practices. He stated that: "We don't
believe that university operating grants should be tied to such provisions."
ACTU President Sharon Burrow said the union movement would back the
National Tertiary Education Union and other unions covering university
employees, in opposing the government's attack on university unionism.
She declared that: "The requirements are unfair, discriminatory and
extremist. The regulations specifically aim to erode long-standing
benefits like redundancy pay, and to promote the use of casual labour.
Collective agreements would become worthless for any staff forced onto
individual contracts, which would override existing arrangements.
"The changes would contravene internationally recognised rights to
freedom of association and collective bargaining. The government is
using standover tactics to force its extremist policies onto university
staff and management.
"Mr Abbott has failed to get his industrial legislation through the
parliament and is now trying to bully universities to adopt his policies
by threatening them with massive funding cuts.
"These changes will do nothing to solve real workplace problems in
universities, such as high levels of job insecurity and excessive
student-to-staff ratios."
Student unions under attack
The government's anti-union position extends beyond the employee
industrial relations arena to student unionism. The association
representing student unions, the Australian Campus Union Managers
Association (ACUMA) said that the legislation "has the ability to
cripple student organisations at Australian universities."
The abolition of compulsory student unionism has the potential to
eliminate 600 jobs, (including 115 positions at Deakin University
alone), and to drastically cut the level of student services provided.
These services include health and counselling services, child care,
sports and entertainment. However, the Liberal Party's student offshoot,
the Australian Liberal Students Federation, has actually defended the
government's move.
Tanya Skelpic, the Federation's President, pointed out with airy
disdain that students with limited means now have to get part-time jobs
to get through uni courses, and therefore "The ones that need to work
and put themselves through uni don't have time to enjoy the (union)
services."
Ms Skelpic ignores the fact that the very reason why students with
limited means have to work to support themselves is the imposition of
huge student fees by the Howard Government, which she defends.
She overlooks the stress that this situation causes, and also the fact
that child-care services are vital for student mothers to complete
courses. She also ignores the importance of entertainment as a crucial
element in relieving the stress of study, which has now been compounded
by the financial worries over the student fees.
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