University of Wollongong enterprise bargaining update – May 2018 (pdf version)
As members will be aware, the CPSU NSW issued a Log of Claims in December 2017 to the University of Wollongong. CPSU NSW delegates and union officials have been sitting at the table with UoW most Wednesdays since 21 February this year, to bargain for better conditions of employment in The University of Wollongong (General Staff) Enterprise Agreement.
The CPSU has tabled clauses on:
We have also asked for an administrative pay rise (from April 2018) in good faith while negotiations continue.
Changes in the Parental Leave Clause to reflect the Primary Carer role and access to paid leave for either parent, not gender-specific.
We would like to see descriptors at the beginning of the Agreement to assist anyone who wants to read through their EA as an explanation of terms used throughout. Also some terminology is inconsistent within the Agreement and needs an edit.
The title of the Agreement to be changed from the word “general” to “professional” as in other university agreements. Our members offer professional services to the university, and with respect, would like to see the title reflect this.
At the EB meeting 2 May, the university proposed removal of the Reclassification, Redundancy and Severance clauses and have them put into policy. This caused a disagreement at the table as the CPSU NSW told UOW that we would never agree to any conditions of employment taken out of the Enterprise Agreement and put into policy. Policy is not enforceable and can be changed at any time by the employer without the consent of employees or their representatives.
The CPSU NSW has, while saying no to its removal, updated and edited the Reclassification clause which we had previously put on the table.
The CPSU NSW also reserves the right to edit, modify, delete or amend any proposal during the course of negotiations with the University of Wollongong. The CPSU NSW would like to also thank the delegates at UoW who have put so much work and personal time into improving the working lives of employees.