UNE management say they are concerned that the unions involved in enterprise bargaining are not listening to staff nor in touch with what the entire workforce wants.
More than 600 staff recently participated in a survey designed to understand the priorities of staff.
On the issue of academic workload, more than 80 per cent of staff were overwhelmingly supportive of being provided with the option to vary the proportion of their workload that is spread across teaching, research and service.
UNE’s Chief Operating Officer David Cushway said despite this, the NTEU refuses to negotiate on this issue, labelling the move “silly” and “not in the interests of its members.”
“The union’s stance on matters such as unlimited sick leave is also out of kilter with the priorities of the workforce and the broader society,” Mr Cushway said.
“We have, through receiving direct representation from staff and through the staff survey, identified that matters such as this do not hold the same priority as job security and equity in managing performance,” he said.
“Our employees have told us that uncapped sick leave is no longer reasonable, sustainable nor manageable.
“We can’t keep these unrealistic employment conditions and still remain financial.
“Job security is not only an issue for UNE but also the Armidale economy,” Mr Cushway said.
“We have shared with the unions the staff survey results that demonstrate they are out of touch with the priorities of the workforce and we now ask: if they are not advocating on behalf of the workforce – who are they advocating for?”
According to Tim Battin President of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) University of New England Branch, the survey designed to understand the priorities of staff would have failed a first-year survey design task because in contained so many ’howlers’.
“When the NTEU requested the raw data from the survey so that we could offer some scrutiny, our request was flatly refused,” Mr Battin said.
“If the management of UNE put one fifth the effort into bargaining as they put into adolescent undermining of union representation, and kow-towing to the employers’ body, the AHEIA, the bargaining process would have been completed several months ago,” he said.
“But as recently as 10 days ago – that is, a full nine months after general/professional staff bargaining commenced and 16 months after academic negotiations commenced – the management tabled a claim that would rip to pieces award conditions governing misconduct and unsatisfactory performance,” Mr Battin said.
“This in an institution where the management performance is so poor, and where so many have been shown the door, we’d be better off to install a revolving door.”
