It’s time to escalate our industrial actions!
Meeting to endorse industrial actions Friday 30 June, 12pm
On June 8, Deakin NTEU members passed a motion that proposed to take escalating industrial action from June 30 if significant progress had not been made toward a new enterprise agreement. We are sad to report that such movement has not been made. To this end, we propose the following actions:
- A ban on attending campus from 3 to 7 July
- A ban on teaching for week 2 of teaching 17 -21 July
- A full day work stoppage Thursday 20 July
Join us on Friday June 30 at 12pm to discuss the proposed actions, and what we can do to work together, and win.
Why are we proposing these actions?
First, because despite the positive tones of some of the meetings, management’s behaviour has disappointed the NTEU. For example:
- Despite our requests for regular, all-day meetings, management has only met with the NTEU on three occasions for a handful of hours.
- While management has agreed in our meetings to approach key stakeholders to attend bargaining meetings, such efforts have not been made to the NTEU’s knowledge. When sessional DVC academic experience, Jaqueline Broadbent was approached separately to the NTEU (when attending an all-staff session on our clause), she stated that she had not been invited by the management bargaining team, despite management’s assurances they would invite her.
Second, because despite making promises in meetings to consider our claims, the substantive offers being made offer nothing to meet any of our core claims. We don’t yet have:
- A calendar of meetings moving forward
- Workload protections
- Working from home rights
- A commitment to decasualise the university
- Improved casual rights
Management claims to be in ‘partial agreement’ with many claims, but the substance of their offers suggest otherwise. We are disappointed by this slow progress. We have made ourselves available to the university at their convenience, provided materials to the university well ahead of our meetings, and signalled our willingness to negotiate on the substance of our claims. If we want to make progress in bargaining, we must show management that we’re serious.