Senior scholar and union activist Joo-Cheong Tham calls for a new enterprise agreement approach

In a comprehensive paper for the National Tertiary Education Union, Professor Tham sets a context for enterprise bargaining at the university.  “There is a crisis at the University of Melbourne,” he writes, “the pandemic has laid bare a broken operating model based on insecurity, inequity and flawed governance.

He points to management failings including, work insecurity, underpayment of casuals, continuing restructures and workloads. “These dynamics have produced toxic workplaces in  parts of the university, he states.

What is needed, Professor Tham argues, is “a movement for change led by staff, one that is animated by a vision of the university true to its ideals.”
He proposes “three pillars” for the  next enterprise agreement.

* job security: including improved rights for sessional staff to convert to continuing employment and casual employment only for “short-term ad hoc work”

* equity: among 14 claims are, “democratic workload regulation,” “minimum research allocation for academic staff” and an unspecified pay-increase

* “good governance:” claims include, directly elected committees to oversight working conditions, “protection and promotion of academic freedom” and “transparency and consultation on senior executive pay”