Union members have backed an enterprise agreement

Management and the National Tertiary Education Union can now put a joint proposal to a staff vote, which is expected to pass. This will end a long, and at times tense campaign, reaching beyond wages to include staff conditions, including the assistant professor scheme, now being separately reviewed.

In November, management went it alone and put an offer to staff which the campus branch of the NTEU opposed. The proposal was defeated by a nearly 75 per cent margin, with 59 per cent of eligible staff voting (CMM November 13). This appeared to clear management’s mind wonderfully and when bargaining resumed in the new year discussions moved along.