Higher Education

Stop the blackmail says education union

By David Carey
Federal Secretary (SPSF Group) - CPSU Joint National Secretary

The Community and Public Sector Union, the CPSU, the Union covering General Staff at all Australian Universities has called on State Labor Education Ministers not to cooperate with the Federal Government's agenda in Higher Education.

The call from the Union is in response to the Federal Government's Budget plan for hundreds of millions of dollars of university funding being withheld from Universities unless the Universities bring in structural changes to University governing bodies.

The Federal Budget plan says that unless Universities dump Staff and Student members from University Councils they won't get a share of the $400 mil in University funds being held back by the Government.

The Federal Government has announced that it also wants Universities to hire Staff on Australian Workplace Agreements, (AWA'S) as the other condition of getting Federal funds.

David Carey, the National Secretary of the University General Staff Union, said "These AWA's are the secret individual employment contracts designed to get around the Union-negotiated Enterprise Agreements, or Awards of the Industrial Commission."

Universities are established under State Legislation. That State Legislation allows the University to appoint Staff and Student elected representatives to the University Councils, the governing bodies of the University.

"State Parliaments have thought long and hard over the value of having a staff and student voice on the governing bodies. They put those provisions into the laws setting up Universities because they thought it was good for their Universities." said David Carey, the Union's National Secretary

Mr Carey also said "It should be unacceptable to State Labor Governments to have the Coalition hold their State University policy to ransom of Federal Funding. The Coalition university industrial policy is driven by an anti-union ideology which has been rejected by all State Labor Governments for their own employees."

"The Federal Government has yet to make the case for these changes. Until it can convince State Governments of the benefits to Higher Education of these changes, the States should not accept what looks like simple blackmail" said Mr Carey.

© 2001 Community & Public Sector Union - State Public Services Federation (CPSU-SPSF) - National Office

http://www.cpsu-spsf.asn.au/latest_news/higher_ed/20030513_reform.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005