Enterprise Bargaining at USyd to continue into 2023

Luke Cass

For first years and new students, university can appear to be a place of wonder. As one of the university’s taglines, “Leadership for Good,” USyd prides itself on nurturing the next generation of movers and shakers.

However, corporate slogans and flashy adverts mask the policies of austerity which cripple the people who run the university — tutors, lecturers and staff. Staff pay and conditions are dependent on an enterprise bargaining process between the University and trade unions which represent them, meaning these negotiations have immense importance for staff and students at the University and, given the importance of USyd in Australia’s higher education landscape, beyond.

The University of Sydney, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), and the Community and Public Services Union (CPSU) have been engaged in enterprise bargaining since the previous agreement between them expired in 2021. Since then, the parties have met over 29 times for formal bargaining meetings. In that time, there have been six days of staff strikes, supported by students, against University management.

Despite recording a $1.04B surplus in 2021, university management continues to reject calls for a pay rise over inflation, an end to casualisation, and gender affirmation leave, amongst other staff demands. Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost Annamarie Jagose has blamed extended negotiation period on “the volume of claims made by staff unions” and “union intransigency on academic matters.” Jagose has also described staff claims as “excessive.”

On 8 December 2022, Jagose sent an all-staff email providing an update on Enterprise Bargaining between the University, the NTEU and CSPU. That email contained details of preliminary agreements between the parties.

It is clear that the bargaining process will continue into 2023, with more strikes likely. Honi explains what the parties have agreed and what is yet to come.

1. Pay

The parties are yet to agree on the pay increase offered to staff. In the all-staff email, Jagose said that “it is not yet possible” for the University to make an offer because it is “waiting for both unions to confirm their wage claims.”