One of the two unions involved in University of Newcastle's messy enterprise bargaining dispute has criticised academics for going out on strike on Thursday and described a 13 per cent pay rise rejected by their colleagues as "nothing to sneeze at".
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Community and Public Sector Union members voted in favour of an enterprise bargaining proposal from university management on May 19, but their National Tertiary Education Union colleagues rejected the offer.
The university referred the matter to the Fair Work Commission last week, and the two unions, management and staff representatives began mediated negotiations on Tuesday.
The CPSU, which represents some university administration staff, posted a message on its website on Wednesday urging a quick end to the dispute, which began almost two years ago.
"This faffing around with trivialities is aiding no one," the message says.
"This is not the time for industrial action. This is not the time for doomsday predictions or scaremongering. This is not the time for further delay and obfuscation.
"The salary offer of five per cent this year and 13 per cent over three years is nothing to sneeze at. And we want it in your pockets as soon as possible."
The CPSU message says it will not participate in further negotiations scheduled for next week.
The university's offer included a five per cent pay rise from April 1 this year and four per cent pay rises over the next two years.
The NTEU, which represents both academics and administration staff on the university's campuses, says the latest management offer does not adequately address concerns about academics' workloads and superannuation equity for casual employees.
The CPSU message, under the heading "The Broken Telephone Game", likens the dispute to a child's game in which "a whisper is distorted as it is circulated around the circle of participants".
The message alludes to "unwelcome intervention by new interests and the distortion of simple messages, as happens in the broken telephone game, by others".
"The time for negotiating about minor differences is over, we want the ballot to proceed and the agreement lodged as soon as possible," it says.
The CPSU says the outstanding matters "are not matters of any concern to CPSU NSW members, nor arguably many, if any, staff of the University of Newcastle, and we have opted to not participate".
NTEU NSW division secretary Vince Caughley told the Newcastle Herald on Thursday that members had voted to strike because university management was "bypassing the voices of staff input" by referring the matter to the commission.
"We want fair pay, we want secure work, we want safe workloads, and we want equity for casual staff," he said.
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Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
