UNE staff pursue progressive industrial agenda

The UNE Branch of the CPSU, the University General Staff Union, has commenced enterprise bargaining with the University of New England.

The Union is seeking a 9 per cent per annum pay increase and a broad range of measures that will help workers better balance work and family life. The CPSU claim includes:

• a school holiday care allowance
• workload protections
• financial support for off-campus childcare
• paid grandparent leave
• professional development leave.

Kylie Day, President of the UNE CPSU, said: "Staff want us to deal with the real issue of work-life balance to ensure the University is able to retain and attract the very best workers. We have previously won excellent parental leave and sick leave provisions and now we are responding to the call to allow staff better provisions to care for grandkids and older parents."

"Members also want to play a positive role in dealing with the global issue of climate change." Ms Day says.

The CPSU recently completed an intensive round of member-based focus groups from which the Union's log of claims was developed.

CPSU Senior Industrial Officer, Andrew Holland, said this approach is a first for the sector. "The initiatives in our log are based on what members have told us they want and need and what we believe can be implemented and achieved. We are not into imposing ideas from above and we hope this will set the standard for proper member-driven bargaining across the university sector."