Today University management are putting a proposed enterprise agreement to ballot of all employees. They do so without having reached agreement with bargaining representatives at the table, and as such last week CPSU NSW Members voted unanimously to REJECT the agreement.
One of the major sticking points is wages.
Fifteen months ago when bargaining commenced salaries ranked as one of the concerns of lower importance for our members.
But bargaining has taken place simultaneously with one of the worst periods of inflation our country has experienced.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics calculated the Consumer Price Index for the 12 months up to September 2022 to be an astronomical 7.3 per cent. Food, petrol and interest rates are all on the rise.
And so what does the University think you deserve, bearing in mind your last salary increase under the last agreement was in September 2021.
A meagre 3.5 per cent – less than half the increase of the cost of living, and only backdated by two months!
The CPSU NSW is currently bargaining with a number of Universities, which is how we know this is below the industry average. Have a look at these current salary offers for your tertiary education counterparts:
ACU – 14.55 per cent + $500 over four years
SCU – 8.25 per cent + $1000 over three years
UTS – 12.75 per cent over four years
WSU – 11.45 per cent over four years
Bearing in mind the time since your last expired agreement and the expiry date the University proposes for your agreement, the sum total of salary increase for you is only 9.5 per cent over four years.
This is another reason why the CPSU NSW bargaining team, and its membership, are urging all staff to VOTE NO for a FAIR GO!
