The CPSU NSW has commenced bargaining with the university and the two meetings have now taken place.
In the first meeting, on 30 September, we received a financial briefing from the Chief Financial Officer, who suggested an ambitious revenue growth target forecast of 6 per cent, which will primarily be driven by international student load, and which is budgeted for a 5 per cent increase per year.
While it was slated that the financial outlook for the university suggests that there is little room for a generous pay offer, we will prosecute your claims for a fair and appropriate pay rise as negotiations progress, keeping in mind the intended cost savings that the university aims to achieve because of the Operational Sustainability Initiative (OSI).
Other parties also prosecuted their claims for improved conditions, employment targets and entitlements for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Staff. The CPSU NSW support all claims that better the conditions for First Nations People.
In the second meeting on 14 October, discussions took place around consultation and change management provisions. The CPSU NSW was disappointed that the university took a position from the outset that most of our claims were not agreeable, believing that the clauses in the current EA were robust and compliant with the university’s legislative obligations. We fail to see how this assertion stands considering your very recent lived experience with the Operational Sustainability Initiative (OSI) and SafeWork NSW’s intervention.
However, subsequently the university conceded that wording needed to be strengthened to demonstrate that feedback provided to change proposals was being genuinely considered, as well as provide a more clearly defined scope of what should take place during the initial consultation stages of any proposed change.
Parties will next meet on October 28 and discussions will solely focus on academic-related matters.
Should you wish to provide any feedback or raise any issues please contact your Enterprise Bargaining Team:
Andreas Dalman Branch President
Greg Hampshire Branch Secretary
Thomas Dobson Assistant Secretary
Mike Galvez CPSU NSW Industrial Officer
