NT Division

www.nteu.org.au/nt

Division Officers NT Division Secretary: Rajeev Sharma Division President: Darius Pfitzner Division Vice-Presidents: Alan Berman (Academic) and Sylvia Klonaris (General) Division Staff Division Industrial Officer: Heinz Schmitt Division Organiser: Susan Bandias The Northern Territory Division represents 423 members at Charles Darwin University, Batchelor Institute and research institutes. In the last year, NT Division has witnessed changes at many fronts. Our Division Council was revamped by co-opting new executives including Dr Alan Berman, Hemali Seneviratne and Amanda Brain. Susan Bandias also joined as an Organiser.

COVID-19 Things changed drastically with COVID-19 induced restrictions in the Northern Territory. We engaged with Charles Darwin University (CDU) management to address staff concerns including working from home options. Compared to other jurisdictions, we have been lucky in the NT as most restrictions were lifted much earlier with the spread of the virus brought under control in a reasonable period. We have been proactive in engaging with CDU management to deal with a COVID-19 induced restructure and its impact on staff numbers. After many rounds of deliberations, CDU decided not to opt for the Jobs Protection Framework, conceding that the adverse financial impact on CDU was not as severe as initially anticipated. While we have successfully managed the COVID-19 crisis, a much wider restructure was initiated last year resulting in the loss of many positions. We are currently dealing with the second phase of restructure that predominantly involves staff and positions in the VET sector. Membership Despite the turbulence, in the past 12 months the NT Division has utilised every opportunity to engage new and prospective members over the issues currently facing CDU, Batchelor Institute and Flinders Medical Centre and the university sector in general. A high Union presence on campus, regular communication with our members, a successful National Day of Action and Bluestocking Week cemented the valuable role of NTEU in the Northern Territory. As at 8 October 2020 there were 423 members in the NT. This is slightly short of our all-time high of 435 members in November 2019. Constant restructuring and numerous rounds of redundancies initially eroded our membership total. However, the Division continues to recruit new members and our numbers are currently trending upwards.

Batchelor Institute Some of the key developments to mention for Batchelor Institute include: a large number of redundancies last year, the beginning of EBA negotiations this year and changes in management (a number of serial temporary appointments and management staff leaving) which meant that Batchelor remained in limbo with no concerted effort to recruit students leading to a dramatic drop in student numbers.

WAC Sylvia Klonaris attended International Women’s Day event ‘Hurdles’ to promote union activism.

Similarly, an NT Division Bluestocking Event was organised in September 2020. The event highlighted the impact of mental health and wellbeing issues recognising the effects on women who are left to work full time, care for their children and work from home with the normal responsibilities including dealing with partners who were also impacted by COVID-19.

The Division Council along with Division staff have worked diligently for members’ rights and we are mindful of the challenges ahead. For example, CDU will soon have a new management team with current the VC and Provost leaving shortly and dealing with a new Education Minister in NT following the recent elections.

In closing I want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of all NT Division Council members and staff including Darius Pfitzner, Sylvia Klonaris, Sue Bandias and Heinz Schmitt. ◆

Images (this page): Amanda Brain (CDU) #SaveHigherEd National Day of Action selfie, 21 May 2020; Darius Pfitzner and Rajeev Sharma; NT members at a rally.