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CPSU NSW meetings reject NTEU/AHEIA pay cut deal for university staff

  22 May 2020

Members of the CPSU NSW have overwhelmingly voted to reject the NTEU/AHEIA so-called National Jobs Protection Framework at mass meetings held across all NSW university branches yesterday.

A whopping 98% of members voted against the NTEU deal and have endorsed a CPSU NSW campaign to fight pay cuts and protect Professional Staff jobs.

The Zoom meetings were addressed by CPSU Branch Assistant Secretaries, Troy Wright (PSA) and Shelley Odewahn (SCU) and called on universities to negotiate directly with their staff and local union branches to tailor cost reduction measures to suit their circumstances.

“We know savings can be found locally through measures like reducing travel, capital expenditure, executive salaries and bonuses, consultant and contractor fees,” Troy said.

“The so-called National Jobs Protection Framework is a neo-liberal one-size-fits-all Orwellian check list of anti-worker measures that will do nothing to protect jobs in the medium term.”

“We’ve gone to members directly and asked them to vote on it. The numbers speak for themselves, and we’ll be campaigning against it.”

“What the sector needs is an economic life-line from the Commonwealth Government, to protect critical learning infrastructure and retain capacity to succeed in a post-pandemic market.”

“We urgently need a government plan to save our third largest export industry and get international students safely studying again in our world class public universities. Dan Tehan and Scott Morrison must do more for higher education.”

On 21 May mass meetings of CPSU NSW members adopted the following resolution:

The CPSU NSW –

1. Acknowledges the financial crisis facing many of our public universities in the wake of COVID-19 and restrictions on international student travel.
2. Condemns the Commonwealth Government for failing to develop a comprehensive rescue package for the higher-education sector, Australia’s third largest export industry.
3. Rejects the NTEU/AHEIA so-called “National Jobs Protection Framework”, secretive deal making and pay cuts for university staff.
4. Calls on universities to prioritise savings in non-essential expenditure and, where necessary, tailor other cost-saving measures directly with their staff and unions.
5. Endorses a Union campaign to protect jobs and the employment interests of Professional Staff in universities.

Moved: Marnya Flanagan (SCU)

Seconded: John Jones (CSU)

For more information or to get more involved contact Kirra Jackson on 1800 772 679.

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CPSU NSW – The Professional Staff Union