More than 10,000 university staff joined rallies across Australia on Oct. 16th in a nationwide strike against tough workplace measures. Seven unions representing nearly 40,000 staff and academic workers supported the strike, which brought much of the higher education system to a halt. The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), the largest of the participating unions, calls the strike a resounding success which shows the trade unions’ determination to resist government interference and protect the independence of the public university system.

The unions were protesting the government’s workplace requirements for universities, which are tied to funding of nearly $404 million. The demands require that university staff agree to Australian Workplace Agreements (AWA), which leave many non-academic staff without union protection for negotiations on concerns such as maternity leave, and overtime rates. The government’s requirements also would lift limits on casual employment and the number of short-term staff the university can hire. If the universities or staff do not meet these hard-line demands, the government is threatening to deny them access to the $404 million in much needed public funding.

Rallies were held nationwide with high staff and student turnout, canceling up to half of the scheduled classes at many universities. Workers at a rally in Sydney carried placards declaring "Quality staff deserve quality pay" and "Our workplace rights are not for sale." There were no reports of violence and only one arrest was reported--a student who tried to disrupt a rally in Melbourne.

The government’s agenda is to break up collective bargaining and discourage union membership; however the unions’ solidarity has remained an obstacle to these actions. AFT president Sandra Feldman sent a letter to NTEU, the AFT’s Education International counterpart, expressing our union’s support for the strike and our common goal for quality public higher education. [Lindsay Albert]

[October 28, 2003]