Recommendations from the Surveys 1. At the National level, undertake a subsequent detailed research project, possibly involving Universities Australia, the ARC and other partner Universities, to officially define lateral violence and develop strategies to tackle lateral violence in the workplace. Currently, lateral violence is not officially defined and therefore can be potentially open to interpretation. The need to define lateral violence in the Australian context is paramount. Without an official definition, the ability to educate and train all people on the issues associated with lateral violence will be all the more difficult. Also, the ability to develop effective policy and strategies in the university sector to combat lateral violence will not be able to be undertaken.
6. Encourage NTEU Branches to undertake a survey of their membership on perspectives of the effectiveness of current university policies and procedures. To add weight to the findings from the Branch and Member survey’s all NTEU Branches should be encouraged to undertake a survey of their wider membership, to establish all members’ thoughts and opinions on current university policies and procedures and to give guidance and feedback on localised strategies that should be undertaken to strengthen university policy and associated procedure.
7. Where possible, ensure NTEU representation on university policy development and review committees. To ensure member perspectives and opinions on university policies and procedures is strongly advocated, Branches, Divisions and the National Office should devise mechanisms to guarantee members are represented at all stages of policy development and review.
2. Lobby the Commonwealth and State/Territory Governments to examine detailed strategies and institute a public campaign to tackle racial discrimination in Australian society. As identified by survey respondents and other research projects including the university of Western Sydney Anti-Racism Research Project, racial discrimination remains a prevalent issue in Australian society. To effectively combat racial discrimination, a public campaign and appropriate strategies should be undertaken and implemented to raise awareness and challenge community thoughts on racial discrimination.
3. Lobby all Universities to undertake a review of the effectiveness of current policies, in particular, procedural arrangements to tackle racial discrimination in the workplace. While the results of the Branch survey indicate that, in the majority, Australian universities have undertaken to review their policy in the previous six year period; results from the Indigenous members’ survey indicate that university policy was only successful in resolving grievances around racial discrimination in 12.8% of all cases. To ensure university policy is appropriate and effective, a review of policy and procedures should be undertaken as a high priority.
4. Lobby university management to institute effective and appropriate reporting mechanisms for grievances involving racial discrimination that provide greater confidence for academic and professional/general staff. Member survey responses indicate that in many cases, issues pertaining to racial discrimination, cultural respect and lateral violence were not dealt with in a manner that provides confidence for an appropriate outcome for Indigenous academic and professional/general staff. Strengthened reporting mechanisms, coupled with detailed procedural strategies will go some way to addressing this issue.
5. Undertake an information campaign on the issue of lateral violence and its relationship to successful staff recruitment and retention. Once the outcomes of a subsequent and further detailed research project is finalised, an information campaign targeted at senior university management, particularly Human Resources, should be undertaken as a high priority to ensure management has the ability to understand the relationship between lateral violence and the university efforts to recruit and retain Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander staff. Prior to the finalisation of the outcomes from the research project, an information paper on lateral violence should be developed by the NTEU Indigenous Policy Committee and National Indigenous Unit to provide guidance to Branches and Divisions. 20
8. At those Universities where a policy development, review and implementation committee does not exist, lobby university management to implement a policy committee as soon as practicable. At those institutions where policy development and review committees do not currently exist; to ensure appropriate governance and accountability channels are maintained, a committee should be implemented as a high priority.
9. Lobby university management to ensure a diverse membership on policy development, implementation and review committees. To ensure a diversity of perspectives and input to the development and review of university policies is received, a diverse membership of policy implementation and review committees is paramount. This would include Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander staff representative on all policy committees.
10. Encourage all universities to provide detailed training for all staff, both inductive and retrospective, to ensure staff members are aware of university policies on racial discrimination and the relationship to current legislative requirements. To ensure all university staff members are aware of their rights and responsibilities under current university policies, should it not already exist, appropriate detailed training and education should be provided to all staff, including but not limited to, racial discrimination and equal employment opportunity.
11. Encourage university management to develop strategies to empower university staff to challenge racial discrimination in the workplace. As highlighted in the Member survey findings, racial discrimination in Universities occurs in the day-to-day work environment, with some work colleagues being the main instigators (55.3%), staff members should have the ability to receive appropriate training to empower those staff members to safely challenge racial discrimination in the workplace. As an instrument of change, staff members who openly challenge issues of racial discrimination can achieve a greater level of success in potentially changing the mind set of those who perpetrate discrimination in the workplace.
I’m not a racist, but...