In a message to staff last night Provost Annamarie Jagose put on the table a compound 15.4 per cent pay rise through to 2026– which is largely in-line with the National Tertiary Education Union federal leadership’s pay demand

plus the university also backs-off its original push for changes to the all-academic 40 per cent research-40 per cent teaching – 20 per cent service work model. “We now propose to protect the 40 per cent research allocation, unless a change is agreed by the staff member,” the provost states. And she sets a 25 per cent  cap on  “education-focused academics” in the continuing and fixed term workforce.

and in a significant move that will put pressure on other Group of Eight universities, Uni Syd offers to reduce the casual academic workforce by 20 per cent, over three years – with 200 new  education focused and 100 teaching and research positions. There would also be 0.2FTE three year fellowships for unspecified numbers of PhD students, “who would otherwise be engaged as casuals.

But – and it is a big but: The offer will be put to campus unions on Tuesday. “Colleagues will then have the opportunity to vote on the new Agreement so that it can be approved by the Fair Work Commission.”  This is brave move – if the unions campaign against it, winning a vote will not be easy for management.  People who are not union members listen to the comrades when it comes to wages and conditions,.