At the end of July, the UNSW branch of the National Tertiary Education Union cancelled a strike on a day’s notice when management improved its enterprise bargaining offer. Things then went quiet as the parties hammered out the details of a deal but the union leadership now has a proposal to put to members, including:

* 8 per cent more money in five pay rises through to January ’22, (including 2 per cent on signing)

* more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, with specific benefits

* improved domestic violence and carer leave plus a new gender transition five-day leave allowance

* doubling of redeployment period to 20 weeks for professional staff whose jobs are abolished

* a “significant improvement” to the academic workload model, including “a significant increase in the recognition of education related activities”

* 85 casual academics, minimum, moving to education-focused positions over the agreement.

The NTEU advises members it made concessions allowing the university to recruit 170 new externals into “education-focused” academic roles.