600 jobs targeted to go at University of NSW

Central Council, 13 November 2006

Report adopted

The new Workchoices legislation presents a number of problems for the role of unions in its ability to industrially represent its members and other restrictions such as member's ability to take industrial action, which is illegal outside the bargaining period. . Under the new Workchoices Agreement, management has decided to take an increasingly hard line against the unions, which has resulted in a number of disputes across the campus.

UNSW has targeted 600 General Staff jobs for redundancy. The Union has been running a successful industrial campaign since the job cuts were announced within the limits of the new industrial system.

The most recent events in the campaign include an open letter to members of the UNSW Council, the peak decision making body, on 6 November demanding that there be no forced redundancies and that the views and work of General Staff be respected. . The campaign has also seen a successful BBQ rally at the College of Fine Arts based in Paddington on 10 November to highlight the harshness of the cuts on the unique work done by the College of Fine Arts.

The University has refused to consult with the Union over the redundancies or the impact on staff as is required under the new Enterprise Agreement.

The Union notified the Australian Industrial Commission of a dispute under the new Work Choices legislation which was heard last Friday. The union sought recommendations from the Commission which were granted. They confirm the Unions view that the University have to consult with staff and the unions on the extent and location of redundancies and the impact on staff of the redundancies.

The University reserved its right to raise jurisdictional issues on the right of the union to notify a dispute as a party to that dispute, and whether the union has the authority as a 'staff representative' to represent members and staff.

The Union has still not received a response from the University with the information that the Commission has recommended must be provided.The Union will be taking further action in the Commission should the University fail to comply.

Library Restructure

The Union has been fighting to preserve jobs, career progression and consultation in the Library, where the University is planning a mass elimination of position, and the creation in their stead of generic positions that lack the specialist skills that UNSW Library prides itself as having.

In the library restructure the union, notified a dispute over staff representation. The union is being denied access to meetings with management where members have requested the union attend. Management will only meet with an individual member and their union representative where they have valid written authorisation and will only discuss an issue that specifically relates to that individual.

The Union will pursue this dispute up to and including the Commission in order to enforce the provisions of the UNSW General Staff Enterprise Agreement.

New South Global

There is a restructure in the Institute of Languages which threatens to move members to a University owned company (NSG) with the effect of removing them from the UNSW Enterprise Agreement. There is a lack of provision in Federal Industrial Relations laws to ensure that the majority will of staff for a collective agreement is respected by the employer. In this case NSG is not covered by an Enterprise Agreement, and relies on common law contracts as the basic employment instrument.

The Union is working with members in the Institute to pursue an Enterprise Agreement, and ensure the rights of staff are not lost in the restructure.

IT Services Review

The University is conducting a review of specialist IT support across the University with a view to centralizing services as a cost savings measure.

The Union is currently monitoring this Review and will be pursuing this matter further once the University confirms that the Review recommendations will be implemented.