So, what is Andrew Vann up to, increasing his Charles Sturt U’s enterprise bargaining pay offer, (CMM Monday)? Perhaps it is an example of the VC’s celebrated good nature, unless it is a case of cunning. A learned reader wise in the ways of industrial deals leans to the latter, suggesting Professor Vann is preparing to put a university offer to staff, in case talks with the unions stall and there is no agreed deal. The pay offer includes $500 rises as well as per centage increases. The cash has proved popular at other universities where they have a bigger impact for low paid staff.

But the campus branch of the National Tertiary Education Union is not having any of it, saying the payments were agreed in bargaining and that there are important issues still to be settled, including reducing the proportion of staff employed as casuals, change management processes and academic workloads.

CSU has been here before. In 2013 Professor Vann put a pay deal to a staff vote with the support of the CPSU, which represented generally lower paid support staff, but the active opposition of the NNTEU. The university community voted for the deal (CMM September 22 20130).