Jane Hansen was scheduled to be installed as the university’s new chancellor Wednesday afternoon

According to the National Tertiary Education Union, Ms Hansen is “a well-known and respected member of the Uni Melbourne community.”

And so the comrades call on her to, “bring a fresh perspective to university leadership – one that recognises the invaluable contribution staff make to the community and supports staff to do their best by listening to them during the bargaining process.”

To make the point the union planned to picket Ms Hansen’s installation as chancellor on Wednesday afternoon – but the university has  called it off, “due to a planned staff and student protest.” There is no word when it will occur – although, given the state of enterprise bargaining sometime next century is possible.

Plus the union is targeting reputational risk for management

The NTEU’s lead enterprise bargaining negotiator has increased the emphasis on insecure work at Uni Melbourne.

The union wants 80 per cent of jobs to be continuing, which management doesn’t. Law School professor, Joo-Cheong Tham warns Uni Melbourne  staff management’s position is “a fundamental failure to fix the chronic job security plaguing this university.”

Professor Tham, points to the university’s continuing use of casual staff and cases of underpayment – including allegations now in two Federal Court matters . And he cites management’s public statements on the need to reduce its reliance on casual staff, (umpteen CMM stories such as June 10 2022, HERE).

“The crisis of working conditions at the university has been accompanied by a crisis of trust in senior management. Overhauling the university’s insecure workforce model by establishing continuing employment as the norm through the Enterprise Agreement is vital for addressing both crises,” Professor Tham writes.

They are problems for management that will continue if the Federal Court finds for the Fair Work Ombudsman in its two cases against the university for underpaying staff (CMM February 13).

Uni Melbourne did not provide a requested comment by deadline last night, but earlier this  month told CMM, “we are working collaboratively and constructively with the unions to reach a new enterprise agreement that is fair to all, recognises the value and contribution that all staff members make to our institution …” (CMM May 3)