Last week management set out temporary concessions on pay and conditions to save $8.5m – the proposal will go to a staff vote (CMM September 10)

But only after the university surveyed staff and modified the original proposal. The freeze on the October pay increase stays but there would be a flat $500 payment for low paid staff and casuals. Annual leave loadings for the rest of this year and next go, except for low paid employees. Step progressions for next year are frozen and people can be told to take “excess” annual leave.

As to what is in it for staff – there is no number on the number of jobs the $8.5m saving will protect.

Implementing all this requires an all-staff vote to vary the university’s enterprise agreement, next week. The campus branch of the National Tertiary Education Union opposed the original proposal.