Union 'stunts' hurt workers

Australian Higher Education Industrial Association

A union representing university employees is accused of engaging in stunts that disadvantage sector workers.

The same union, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), has a serious disconnect with its members, so that it is having great difficulty filling its campus committees and other roles.

At this very point the Australian Electoral Commission is conducting a ballot to fill committees for the union, as the result of insufficient nominations.

And, as part of that ballot process the NTEU has been called out by the Fair Work Commission for serious governance shortcomings.

The FWC’s rebuke was clear: the NTEU has failed to fill its own committees, and possibly allowed unfinancial members to hold office. This is not the track record of an organisation qualified to lecture others on governance.

A senate inquiry has been told that the NTEU has 10 per cent or less membership penetration at universities.

“This has implications for the conduct of enterprise bargaining and other activities in the sector,” the Executive Director of the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association (AHEIA), Craig Laughton, said.

“We believe the NTEU will be under-resourced for enterprise bargaining and therefore will hold up positive changes to employees pay and conditions. Furthermore, the union will engage in stunts by trying to involve regulators and therefore cause more slowing of the process.

“In recent times we’ve seen the union promote and rely upon a regulator to halt sector-union discussions weaponising a workplace safety lever and in addition an application to the Fair Work Commission for protected industrial action in a matter that had only six meetings into the bargaining round. This is right up there for the Guinness Book of World records for the quickest PABO.A

“These are somewhat desperate actions – stunts - and invariably result in delay to more deserving pay increases to employees.

In the case of the protected industrial action, triggered only after only six meetings, that will delay proceedings by more than two weeks.

“Far from being a ‘victory’, as often is the characterisation by the union, it’s the act of a pre-Christmas grinch.

“In the past universities have experienced ill-prepared union representatives nominated for the enterprise agreement process and that has delayed proceedings.

We seek an undertaking from the NTEU that it will:

have sufficient representatives in each state and territory to expedite the enterprise bargaining process;
it will take part in the proceedings in good faith; and
it will not engage in stunts that ultimately harm employees.”

Mr Laughton said AHEIA always is open to constructive dialogue with the NTEU that benefits employees.

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