All three public unis have new enterprise agreements in the offing – it’s a pointer to the new industrial environment

Flinders U and Uni Adelaide announced in-principle agreements with union negotiators this week, they still have to be approved by members and then in all staff ballots but they look like done-deals (CMM May 2 and 3).

And Uni SA was a week ahead of both (news to CMM) with a similar agreement, including a 14 per cent life of agreement pay rise, 50 continuing jobs for now casual academic staff by end ’25, “enhanced” workload management provisions and gender affirmation and domestic violence leave.

There is an SA style of bargaining, with universities and union generally sorting out agreements without long and bitter disputes, which is about to become especially significant.

Changes to the Fair Work Act allow multi-employer agreements. But why would the HE unions bother when three much the same agreements can be reached without the high stakes stresses of industry-wide terms?

And why would any VC want to risk being roped into a deal that may suit other universities more than theirs?