Issuu

CONNECT An NTEU Publication for Casual and Sessional Staff Vol. 2 No. 1, March 2009

Our universities matter

INVESTING IN PEOPLE & SOCIETY

Casuals’ Charter Demand your rights!

Your Rights at Work The Bradley Review

NTEU’s bargaining claims for 2009

What does it have to say about casual employment in Australian universities?

Getting it back Back pay successes for casual/ sessional staff at La Trobe and ACU

Eureka! University of Ballarat Agreement delivers for casuals

Northern Exposure The 85 day strike of Canadian ‘permatemp’ lecturers

ISSN 1836-8522 (Print)/ISSN 1836-8530 (Online)

read online at www.unicasual.com.au

Inside Editorial....................................................... 2 Casuals Charter............................................ 3 The Bradley Review and casual employment in Australia’s universities .................................. 4 Cover image © Dirk HR Spennemann, ‘Rachel 37 Lecturer Thurgoona (hands nº 107)’. Used with kind permission of the photographer. www.flickr.com/photos/heritagefutures/

Workforce Development Program..................... 5 Collective Bargaining for your rights................ 6

Back pay success stories................................ 7

For more information on Connect and its content please contact the NTEU National Office:

University of Ballarat Agreement delivers gold for sessionals............................................... 8

Post: Phone: Fax: Email: Web:

PO Box 1323, South Melbourne VIC 3205 (03) 9254 1910 (03) 9254 1915 nteunat@nteu.org.au www.nteu.org.au www.unicasual.com.au

Local Branch contact details available at: www.unicasual.com.au/contact.html

The views expressed in this publication are those of the individual authors, and not necessarily the official views of NTEU.

Member Focus: Dr Neville Wright..................... 9

Editorial Welcome to the second national edition of Connect, the NTEU magazine focussing on issues affecting casual and sessional academic staff. Australia’s universities have had a growing reliance on casual and sessional academic staff since the early 1990s. NTEU’s campaign

Snow Picketing: The 85 day strike of York University’s ‘permatemp’ lecturers.................. 10 Casual Membership Form.............................. 12

extra online content Observations of Assessment & Tutoring Issues Dr Neville Knight & Lucinda Horrocks

In accordance with NTEU policy to reduce our impact on the natural environment, this magazine is printed on 100% recycled paper: produced from 65% post-consumer waste and 35% pre-consumer waste.

Grahame McCulloch, NTEU General Secretary

Deakin NTEU EBA Proposal Sessional Payments for Marking and Other Academic Duties

to redress the exploitation associated with this insecure form of work has moved into high gear with successful actions in several universities, and the very good bargaining outcome at the University of Ballarat. Professor Bradley’s Higher Education Review has attracted much public attention and debate, and in this edition we consider the Review’s possible impact on casual and sessional employment (see p. 4). Casualisation is not unique to Australia’s universities, and in future editions of Con-

NTEU NACC Discussion EBA Proposal Sessional Payments for Marking and Other Academic Duties

nect we will discuss actions and issues in a range of countries. In this edition we hear of the 85 day strike held at York University in Canada and look to what lessons can be learned for possible actions in Australia.

(see p. 10). Your involvement is essential to winning greater security and fairer employment conditions in all Australian universities. The Charter of Casual Academic Rights (see p.

3). encapsulates the minimum conditions we believe should be instituted at each

Get Active. Get Covered

university. NTEU is developing networks at every university and needs your ideas and input to ensure the success of our campaign. To find out the latest on the campaign contact your NTEU Branch and check out the campaign website at www.unicasual.

com.au.

CONNECT

Casuals’ Charter NTEU has developed a Charter of Casual Academic Rights – a set of the most basic rights to which academic casual and sessional staff should be entitled at all Australian universities. Many casual and sessional staff are denied these rights, and NTEU maintains there is no justifiable reason for all universities not to sign up to and implement the charter immediately. Our bargaining claims include these rights as well as broader improvements.

3. Facilities & Resources

All casual academic staff shall be entitled to:

1. Employment Contract

• Designated workstation including networked computer, desk

• At least 4 weeks notice of engagement for lecturing in a subject, and at least 2 weeks notice for other casual academic work. • At least 4 weeks notice of cancellation of lecturing in a subject, and at least 2 weeks notice of cancellation of other casual academic work. • A written employment contract available at the point of engagement, clearly specifying all duties and amount of time required for each duty, applicable rates of pay for each duty, lines of accountability, whether attendance is required at extra meetings, and professional development opportunities.

versity staff, from 4 weeks prior to commencement of teaching through to the conclusion of the next teaching period following the teaching period for which the casual is employed: • library cards • out-of-hours access • email accounts • network and intranet access • inclusion in the university’s phone book and web directory.

4. Career Path & Professional Development

2. Payment • Payment for all time worked, including but not limited to teaching, online and face-to-face student consultation, marking, and attendance at induction sessions, lectures and academic work area meetings. • Payment for time worked within 2 weeks of work being performed. • Annual incremental progression to the next salary step upon completion of the equivalent of 1 year’s casual work.

and phone. • Access to the following on the same basis as permanent uni-

• Comprehensive induction, including explanation of relevant university and work area policies, procedures and administrative functions. • Eligibility to apply for internally advertised positions and professional development opportunities. • Inclusion in academic work area meetings. • No disadvantage in terms of accessing further casual academic work upon obtaining a PhD.

To find out what you can do to help achieve these rights at your University, contact your local NTEU Branch on campus.

Pictured: Liam Ward at the 2008 NTEU ACT Casuals Conference. Photo: Jane Maze

Semester 1, 2009

The Bradley Review & casual employment in Australia’s universities By Robyn May, National Industrial Officer In late December 2008, Professor Denise Bradley handed down the much awaited Bradley Review of Higher Education. The Review, commissioned by the Education Minister Julia Gillard in March 2008, had a wide-ranging brief to map a future course for Australia’s higher education sector.

The Union’s concerns One of NTEU’s major concerns is the extent of casualisation of employment, how this is impacting on the academic workforce (in particular into the future), and how much of this is a reflection of funding constraints. NTEU has highlighted the fact that the majority of undergraduate teaching is now performed by casual staff. Employment for these staff – far from the mythical ivory tower – is characterised by high levels of insecurity and enormous workload pressures. This has undeniable outcomes on the quality of student experiences. The Bradley Review acknowledges these issues, noting that the capacity of the sector to deliver will be ‘critically affected by the quality and capacity of the academic workforce’ (p. 22). It notes that attraction and retention of academic staff is a major issue, in part due to the ageing of the academic workforce, and also as a result of salary, workload and insecurity making the profession less attractive (p. 23). In particular, the dependence on a casual workforce has had an impact on the attractiveness of academic jobs for young post-graduates. The report, however, falls short on calling the sector to account for this appalling failure of workforce planning. It fails to propose any real solutions beyond increased funding and suggesting that action should

be taken to ‘improve the relative attractive-

Proof of the importance of targeted

ness of working conditions’.

funding was evident in comments from

Voucher system

Universities Australia (the industry peak

The other concern regarding casualisation

‘increases in basic block grant funding…

and the Bradley Review is its recommenda-

so more reliable and secure employment

body) who expressed their preference for

tion that the Government introduce a stu-

can be built in’ (Higher Education Supple-

dent voucher system. The idea of ‘funding

ment, The Australian, 21 January 2009). In

following the student’ may make it harder

other words, they want more money, but

for universities to plan what resources

offer no guarantee of creating more secure

they will need for individual courses and

employment.

degrees. What is popular one year may be

Bargaining claims

unpopular the next; there is also the potential for fluidity in student numbers between

In the current bargaining round, NTEU is

competitive institutions from year to year.

claiming that each university reduce the

This would increase the likelihood of

size of its casual workforce and create new

institutions wishing to maintain, and even in-

fixed-term fellowship positions for early

crease, their casual and contract workforce

career researchers.

as they endeavour to deal with changes in demand for various courses. It’s one of the many contradictions in Bradley, whereby they apparently recognise the dangers of high casualisation in

At the University of Ballarat, for instance, agreement was reached to appoint four such positions, the equivalent of 10% of their 2007 FTE casual workforce. NTEU will be pushing these claims hard

the workforce, but then recommend policy

in 2009, but the Union’s success will depend

that would potentially exacerbate this very

in large measure on casuals getting behind

problem.

the campaign and making your voices

NTEU’s Budget submission

heard.

A key element of NTEU’s 2009 Budget

help make NTEU claims a reality by join-

submission is for targeted funding for a

ing the Union and getting involved in the

proposed Workforce Development Pro-

campaign.

gram (see p. 5).

CONNECT

NTEU urges all casual academic staff to

Workforce Development Program proposed A key element of NTEU’s 2009 Budget submission is a proposed Workforce Development Program (WDP), which would deliver 1,800 new full-time merit-based appointments over three years, categorised as either: • Training and Development Placements (TDP) for recent PhD graduates that are genuinely new to the sector; or

approximately half of the minimum annual salary and on-costs of a person with a PhD and appointed at Academic Level A/B.

• Secure Employment Placements (SEP) for existing casual

The subsidy would not only provide universities with an

employees who have recently completed, or are about to

incentive to make such new appointments, it would also give

complete, their PhD.

new appointees some scope to develop their teaching and/or

The Program’s overriding objective is to maintain the quality of teaching and research and to make academia a more attractive career choice.

research profiles. The number of total placements any university would be allocated would be a function of their share of total employment

Each SEP and TDP placement would attract a $50,000 per an-

(full-time, fractional, and casual).

num subsidy (for a maximum of three years), estimated to be

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Semester 1, 2009

Collective Bargaining for your rights This year NTEU will be negotiating a new Collective Agreement for staff at your university. A key part of these negotiations is to improve terms and conditions for casual academic staff. In 2007 NTEU launched a national casual and sessional academic

would require a minimum teaching service threshold and comple-

staff campaign, ‘Smart Casuals’. Hundreds of casual and sessional

tion of, or substantial progress in PhD study.

academic staff participated in conferences and surveys, agreeing

The ECDF initiative should be accompanied by a wider program

that their key concerns about university employment were:

of funded professional development and research mentoring for

• Underpayment and non-payment for work performed, espe-

all longer-term casual staff.

cially marking. • Lack of job security and a meaningful career path. • Lack of status and inclusion as full members of the academy within their university.

Find out about bargaining at your university Your local NTEU Branch can arrange a department/faculty information session to give a useful overview of everything to do with

• Poor facilities and resources.

bargaining, particularly the claims for casual academic staff. Casual

Bargaining claims

staff are often isolated from colleagues and can find it difficult to be

To tackle these issues, casual and sessional academic members

Make your opinion count

developed a range of new Collective Bargaining claims, including:

‘in the loop’. Contact your NTEU Branch for details of meetings.

1. Payment for all duties performed and hours worked. Many casu-

Your local NTEU Branch should hold regular information sessions

als and sessionals reported performing significant unpaid and

for members on what is happening around bargaining and cam-

underpaid work, especially in relation to marking. Guaranteed

paigning activities. Branches will be focussing on making contact

payment for all work performed, including separate pay for

with casual academic staff, to get your input on our claims and pro-

marking, should be a basic entitlement.

vide feedback on the progress of negotiations. Contact your local

2. A significant improvement in casual/sessional academic pay. Improved overall pay rates for tutoring and lecturing, better superannuation and access to annual pay increments are crucial

Branch to find out the details of when sessions are occurring.

Recruit your colleagues

to ensuring a living wage for casuals. The new modernised

The more staff that are in the Union, the stronger our voice as the

higher education Award will include a 25% casual loading as the

representative of staff. More members = a stronger voice at the

minimum, providing the impetus to achieve this rate in all new

bargaining table.

Collective Agreements. 3. Limits on the extent of casual employment. Academic work should be casual when it is truly ‘casual’ in nature. When work is ongoing, employees should be able to access permanent or fixed term employment with better pay and job security. 4. Access to more secure forms of employment and career devel-

Collective bargaining also takes time and resources. Negotiators usually have another full time job at the University. Simply holding a meeting of members on campus at lunchtime incurs costs. The financial resources of the NTEU come from membership dues. More members = more resources. Now is the perfect time for your colleagues to join NTEU, and the most potent invitation to

opment. Academic casuals deserve a real career path, including

join comes from a co-worker.

opportunities for experienced casuals to access promotion and

Elect a Union contact

ongoing employment. 5. Improved facilities and inclusion in collegiate activities. Casual

The bargaining process requires communication between mem-

and sessional academic staff should be entitled to the same

bers and negotiators for ongoing advice and strategy feedback.

resources, facilities and collegial opportunities as other staff.

Talk to your colleagues about ensuring a representative in your

Early Career Development Fellowships

area has been identified and contact your local Branch if you are

Our bargaining claims around more secure jobs and better career

Stay informed

opportunities will include seeking an agreed number of Early Career Development Fellowships (ECDFs). These new Fellowships

interested in assisting.

Your local Branch will produce regular bulletins in the lead up to

would be teaching and research or research-only two-year fixed-

and during negotiations. NTEU’s national members’ magazine, The

term contracts available to current casual academic staff through

Advocate will report regularly on progress made in bargaining,

a competitive merit-based selection process. Eligible candidates

and we will update the progress around the casual academic staff claims in each issue of Connect.

CONNECT

A core claim of the NTEU Bargaining strategy is for all work performed by casuals and sessional academic staff to be paid. Most Collective Agreements previously had a somewhat loose definition of what might be included in the ‘built-up’ rate – commonly a 3 hour rate covering preparation, delivery and reasonably contemporaneous marking and consultation. This achievement sets a new standard which will hopefully stop management from ‘requiring’ casual and sessional academic staff to perform a much wider range of marking than was ever envisaged under the ‘reasonably contemporaneous’ provisions in the old Agreements. At two universities the old wording is better than most, and it provides much more clarity on what was intended by ‘reasonably contemporaneous.’ In each of these institutions, NTEU has been fighting to ensure sessional and casual academic staff are paid appropriately for the marking. This has resulted in a number of cases of significant backpay – the stories on this page are just two!

Back pay for ACU casual member In May 2008, NTEU member Beth at ACU in Melbourne contacted the Head of the School of Nursing with concerns regarding the appropriate payment for marking performed during first semester. Through that, Beth achieved a back-payment for marking work which amounted to almost $1,000. At the same time in Canberra, a group of active staff led by NTEU member Patricia raised concerns about appropriate payment for casual and sessional academic staff in the School of Theology. A significant campaign was run by these staff and a number of members have won claims for proper payment. So far management has agreed to backpay almost $7,000 to staff. NTEU is now working with a number of other casual and sessional academic staff wanting to make claims.

La Trobe sessional academics win back pay for ‘free marking’ By Serena O’Meley, Branch Industrial Organiser, NTEU La Trobe Branch The NTEU casuals campaign has prompted many of our members to think about whether their existing terms and conditions are being honoured. In one example, a group of La Trobe University nursing academics were encouraged by a Union colleague to challenge the expectation that they should undertake ‘free marking.’ In La Trobe’s Collective Agreement, mark-

card debt, and provided her with money

ing needs to be paid separately if it is not

for a new computer and a donation to the

usually undertaken within seven days of a

RSPCA. For Leanne, being properly paid

class. Sessional staff members who have

was also a point of honour for her as a

a PhD or who undertake unit coordination

professional nurse and academic.

are entitled to higher rates of pay than staff who undertake routine duties. It took a lot of prompting before management would confirm that a number of staff had been under-paid, and to work

“It was my money, I’d earned it and worked hard for it. I have always put a lot of pride and effort into my work, and it was owed to me.” “I’d encourage all sessional staff to

with the Union to correct the mistakes. So

pursue what they are entitled to. It can be

far four sessional staff members have been

hard to do this kind of thing on your own

back paid a total of $19,182! Several more

– that’s why it is really important to be part

claims are still being processed.

of a union, to work together and to have

The $9,200 back payment Leanne Boase received put an end to Christmas credit

knowledge about your conditions.”

Leanne Boase received $9,200 in back pay Photo: Tess Flynn

Leanne and her colleagues have helped ensure that current and future sessional staff members will be properly paid for the work that they do.

Semester 1, 2009

UB Agreement delivers

gold for sessionals

CASUAL?

By Linda Gale, State Industrial Organiser, NTEU Victorian Division The first university to finalise a Collective Agreement in the current round of bargaining was the University of Ballarat (UB), delivering substantially improved conditions for sessional academic staff. As well as a 10.9% wage rise for all staff over 18 months, NTEU won extra gains for sessional academics.

Improvements in pay The reference to ‘reasonably contemporaneous marking’ was removed

SESSIONAL?

from the payment for teaching contact time – tutorials, lectures, clinical supervision etc. Instead, all marking done outside the actual contact time is now paid separately at the relevant marking rate. The casual loading increased from 23% to 25%. All new sessionals will be paid for at least 5 hours induction.

Collegial rights Sessional academic staff at UB now have library, network and email access for 3 months beyond any particular period of work. They are also included in new collegial consultation requirements for the allocation of academic workload. Sessional staff have a right under the Agreement to attend School

NTEU is the union

for all university staff.

office space and services.

NTEU understands casual academic work usually isn’t all roses. Casuals have no job security and often face problems like underpayment, poor facilities and little collegial and professional recognition.

Career development

Get Active. Get Covered.

and Departmental meetings on the same basis as permanent academic staff, and are recognised as internal applicants when they apply for jobs. UB also agreed that sessional academics will have access to professional development opportunities, equipment, storage facilities,

NTEU won the establishment of Early Career Development Fellowship positions which are 2 year fixed term academic appointments available only to existing sessional employees of the University. These positions are currently being advertised and filled.

Leave

Find more information online at

www.

unicasual .com.au WIN A $200 BOOK VOUCHER! See reverse of this bookmark

All long-serving casual staff at UB – academic and general – now have access to long service leave and unpaid parental leave.

Future progress In the University of Ballarat Agreement, NTEU has won significant improvements for sessional academic staff. It is clear that a good foundation has been laid for the next round of bargaining, but there is much still to be done. NTEU UB Branch is now focussed on the implementation of the Agreement. Some of these improvements challenge cultural as well as organisational assumptions, and without ongoing and constructive engagement from the Union’s sessional academic members it would be easy for the University to slip back into the old bad habits. So far, however, there has been good will on all sides to make sure the wins in the Agreement are delivered in practice.

CONNECT

Member focus

Dr Neville Knight Deakin University

“

It’s 10 years since I took an early retirement from Monash as a senior lecturer in Sociology after 25 years of service. Since then I have undertaken contract work at Deakin and sessional tutoring and marking at Deakin, Monash and RMIT. I still enjoy teaching Sociology, though I feel frustrated that I cannot get to know students because tutorial numbers have increased and tutorial times have decreased.

marking assignments and exam papers. In addition, they are rarely

I am committed to raising the priority given to tertiary teaching in

dertook, university administrators would have economic grounds

the context of the ‘educational revolution’. I have always been a

to convert a greater proportion of sessional teaching capacity into

member of NTEU because I believe in the importance of Collec-

fixed term and continuing positions.

tive Bargaining especially for those in vulnerable positions, eg

paid for ‘extras’ academic duties including attendance at tutors’ meetings to discuss courses, assessment expectations and moderation of marking. We need to improve sessional pay rates, but more significantly, change the way hours of work are calculated, especially in relation to payment for marking. I support the NTEU policy of getting university administrators to convert sessional teaching capacity into fixed term and continuing positions. If sessional staff were paid more fairly for work they un-

Last year Lucinda Horrocks and myself compiled an Enterprise

casual staff. In my last year at Monash as a permanent employee I

Bargaining Agreement (EBA) proposal based on a more equi-

was a member of the NTEU Branch Committee.

table way of calculating hours of work in relation to payment

I have been appalled at the exploitation of sessional staff. Many

for marking and other academic duties. Our EBA proposal has

sessional staff have privately told me that they are afraid to speak

been endorsed by the National Academic Casuals Committee

up about their situation because they want to be re-employed the

and widely circulated, together with another reflective paper on

following semester and desperately hope for a tenured academic

related issues, to NTEU Branches throughout Australia.

position in the future.

Our proposal was unanimously accepted at a Deakin Members’

Universities are saving money by casualising their workforce. An

Meeting (28-30 October 08). It has been submitted

outcome of this practice is that sessional staff have limited career

to the Deakin administration and we are awaiting its

opportunities because there are very few new academic positions

response. The Deakin EBA proposal on marking and

advertised each year.

other academic duties can be found online at

NTEU reports that casual employees undertake 53% of tertiary teaching. In many Arts Faculties first year tutorials are predominately taken by sessional staff, often with little assistance from hard pressed permanent staff who are themselves under pressure. (I’ve been there and done that!). Sessional staff are carrying a significant burden of teaching responsibility but are not professionally

www.unicasual.com.au.

Dr Neville Knight is a casual academic staff member working at Deakin University in Melbourne. He is a member of the NTEU’s National Academic Casuals Committee (NACC) and the NTEU Deakin Branch EBA Negotiating Team. He has been actively campaigning for fair payment to casuals for the work they undertake in universities.

recognised or appropriately financially rewarded, particularly for

get connect online read this magazine as a flip book or pdf @ www.unicasual.com.au

Semester 1, 2009

Snow Picketing By Carla Lipsig-Mumme, York University and Monash University

The 85 day strike of York University’s ‘permatemp’ lecturers Photos by Kara Fraser www.flickr.com/photos/karafraser

On 29 January 2009, after 85 days on strike, 3,400 part-time lecturers and tutors at York University in Toronto, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE 3903), were ordered back to work by the Ontario Legislature, putting an end to one of Canada’s longest and most bitter university strikes. Binding arbitration – which the employer

now, in the bitter backwash, the higher edu-

private sector. Among York’s part-time

had asked for and the Union had refused

cation industry as a whole may be forced

lecturers are those with PhDs who have

for 6 months – will now determine the

to come to grips with what its cheap labour

worked upwards of 20 years, with no on-

terms under which CUPE 3903 members

strategy has done to education and to the

going contract from year to year.

work, rather than Collective Bargaining. It

rights of a generation of academics.

is unlikely that the most important union

Tramping artisans

temp’ lecturers, and an expiry date for

In Canada, university administrations

ers are this generation’s tramping artisans

the contract that will allow province-wide

have worked for more than two decades

– they collect part-time teaching at as many

coordination of the next round of collective

to develop pools of ‘flexible’ teaching

universities as they can, striving to make

bargaining – will be granted by binding

labour, using these to expand student

ends meet.

arbitration.

numbers, cushion their budgets against

Snow picketing

demands – job security for the ‘perma-

But in losing the York strike, CUPE

politics, recession and competition, and to

Canadian universities, the part-time lectur-

brought higher education’s dirty secret

underwrite the increasing cost of university

The strike began at the end of northern

out of the closet and into the public gaze:

administration in relation to the cost of

Autumn, and continued through December

unchecked growth of the precarious labour

educating.

and January. From the outset, the employer

market, exploitation of two generations of

Since Toronto and southern Ontario are endowed with the largest cluster of

In this, Canadian universities – and York is

cancelled all classes, on-campus and off-

highly trained academics, the undermining

no exception – have created and main-

campus, face-to-face and distance educa-

of tenure for those with secure jobs, and

tained a disposable labour force whose

tion. The reason? CUPE’s members taught

corrosion of the quality of education. Right

vulnerable ‘flexibility’ is the envy of the

approximately 50% of all undergraduate

CONNECT

classes, and the university could not func-

or more. York itself had strikes of 70+ and

tionally canny in keeping sectoral bargain-

tion without its ‘permatemp’ lecturers.

50+ days in 1997 and 2000.

ing alive during the hardest years, but in

Snow picketing – in weather of minus 20

However, this strike at York was unusual in

Canada, it does not come easy.

to 30ºF (minus 28 to 34ºC), with long picket

that it was the precariously employed who

shifts and 12 entry points to the main cam-

were walking the picket lines. Its failure, and

autonomy in Collective Bargaining? Cana-

pus – is quite a challenge. The police had

its ironic success in highlighting this core

da’s culture of decentralisation is reflected

given the Union the right to limit cars enter-

issue, raises some key questions which may

within union culture. Union representation

ing the campus to two at a time per gate,

be as relevant to Australia as to Canada.

is shockingly fragmented, even within one

and the public transport union refused to cross the lines.

First, can Collective Bargaining be used

Third, what are the limits of branch-level

university. York is not unusual in that the

to bring justice and some measure of

permanent and full-time lecturers are in one

In the second month the almost com-

security to a precarious labour market that

union, ‘support staff’ in another, part-timers

pletely women-only picket crew at one

the sector’s employers have groomed for

and tutors in a third, and engineers in a

gate asked the Union to end their shifts by

decades? The Canadian answer, drawn

fourth. Even within one university, they nei-

nightfall, since the verbal abuse they were

from this strike, is that higher education

ther coordinate their demands nor bargain

receiving made them uneasy.

needs sectoral bargaining with the real

together. Canadian bargaining units there-

employer: the government. The problem is

fore make a messy mosaic, easier for the

binding arbitration and when the Union

systemic, and each university has no stake

employer to play off against each other.

continued to refuse, very little face-to-face

in settling it alone.

At the same time, York continued to offer

bargaining took place. For its part, Local

Second, what level of coordination

In the name of local autonomy, CUPE’s national office did not exercise the nec-

3903 – operating with an exceptional

does a union need to bargain in the higher

essary leadership and the York branch

degree of autonomy in CUPE – refused to

education industry? This strike’s answer is

stumbled, failing to engage the public from

prioritise its own demands until shortly

the outset with the community impor-

before Christmas.

tance of its issues, tying the hands of its

In mid-January the employer availed

negotiating team, and failing to prioritise

itself of its legal right to go over the

strategically.

head of the Union, present its final offer

Lessons for Australia

to the workers, and hold a governmentsupervised vote on that final offer. The

Finally, what can NTEU learn from the York

part-timers and tutors, on strike for three

strike? First, bargaining has to be coor-

months and without pay during a brutal

dinated, and has to take place where

winter, rejected it by almost two to one.

funding decisions are made. Second, subordinating the local to the larger unit

But higher education is in the public

will be necessary.

sector, and York has almost 50,000 stu-

Third, the problem of precarious

dents. Forty three per cent of undergraduates are the first members of their

employment is a killer – for strong union-

families to go to university. In response

ism, for the careers of the next genera-

to growing public outrage directed at

tion, for the quality of education, for the

both sides, the provincial Liberal govern-

university as a community. Re-inventing

ment passed back-to-work legislation,

an integrated teaching labour market is

which is an offer one does not refuse.

the priority. Fourth, a public sector union provid-

The aftermath

ing a crucial, anxiety-provoking service

This was a hard-edged strike, marred by

must pay creative and continuous atten-

the Union’s lack of pragmatism and bar-

tion to public opinion. Last, branch-level

gaining nous, and the continuation of an

autonomy is a guide, not a straightjacket.

employer strategy more than a decade old:

you bargain where the power to fund lies,

just say no, crank up the confrontation, and

and coordinate your bargaining units at that

then sit tight as the fallout hits the Union.

level. CUPE 3903 was seeking a two year

Yet this tough strike is not unique in

contract rather than the traditional three

Canada. In the past year, the universities

years, in order to coordinate contract expiry

of Windsor and St. Thomas have been on

with branches in other Ontario universities

strike, and classes have stopped for weeks

and go forward with sector-wide bargaining in the next round. NTEU has been excep-

For further information on the York University strike please visit www.cupe3903.tao.ca/ Carla Lipsig-Mumme is Professor of Social Science at York University, Ontario, Canada and Honorary Professor of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University, Melbourne

Semester 1, 2009

NTEU CASUAL/SESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP FORM

MAR09

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