You may have heard that Deakin staff are taking a range of strike actions while negotiating for a new enterprise agreement, including:
- A ban on professional staff attending campus from Friday 7 to Tuesday, 11 July.
- A week-long ban on teaching from 17-21 July, and
- A 24-hour strike on Thursday, July 20
There will be rallies held at Burwood and Waterfront on July 20. Please come along!
- Burwood: 10am, Central Precinct, Building HF (Outside Student Central)
- Waterfront: 3pm, Gheringhap street (Outside Costa Hall) – with sausage sizzle and live music
We understand that this may disrupt your learning, and we want to assure you that we do not take this action lightly.
What does this mean for you?
- There will be no teaching activities in Week 2 of Trimester (17-21 July)
- Staff will not be working on Thursday, July 20.
Staff working conditions directly impact student learning conditions. Our strike measures are aimed at negotiating conditions to ensure we can deliver high-quality teaching and provide you with the support you deserve.
Under the current workload model, staff are not afforded enough time to undertake key duties. For instance, your tutor has only been allocated about 1 hour across the entire semester to mark your assignments. To prepare, write and deliver a lecture, staff are afforded only three hours.
What do we want?
- Democratic workload models to protect against overwork
- A commitment to decasualize the university
- Working-from-home rights
- Improved casual working conditions
- Restrictions on rolling restructures
- Fair pay
How did we get here?
The National Tertiary Education Union has been in negotiations with Deakin Management for a new enterprise agreement for eight months, with little progress being made. On June 7, NTEU members passed a motion calling on management to make significant progress by June 30. Unfortunately, this progress was not made.
What can you do to help?
- Join the strike on July 20
- You can send a letter to the Vice Chancellor, igmartin@deakin.edu.au, expressing your support for us in bargaining. We’ve provided a template you can use here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Cds21cjg5cuE3X0V62bFe3W1m8hWU6zi4XQp97k5LZA/edit?usp=sharing
- You can also reach out to your tutors and tell them directly that you support them, the work that they do, and NTEU Deakin in fighting for their rights and both of your conditions.
- Spread the word! Talk to your friends, post & share photos & articles on social media, make memes, stick up posters or stickers, take solidarity photos in your classes or at events, or change your profile picture. You can also hijack trends as a way of showing your support.
We apologise for the disruption to your learning.
Have concerns? You can email the branch at deakin@nteu.org.au