There is a deal at James Cook University, with union and management reaching an in-principal understanding for a new enterprise agreement. This is a big change in a week. Last Friday the two sides could not agree, despite management adding an extra 2 per cent rise for 2021 to its offer. However CMM hears the campus leadership of the National Tertiary Education Union is now happy.

Last night the university reported that, “subject to the bargaining group and NTEU executive endorsement, which we expect, given the considerable movement on all sides, we will be providing the agreement to our staff for the purposes of voting.”

If a staff vote to approve a joint management-NTEU proposal there is talk of a pay-rise, backdated to September, before Christmas.