The University of Sydney Branch
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| CPSU newsletter | |
Enterprise Agreement NegotiationsThe CPSU congratulates members on the recent pay rise of 2.5%, and reminds members that a final pay rise of 2.5% is due in January 2012 – the last pay rise before the current enterprise agreement expires. This means the CPSU will soon be consulting with members to establish our log of claims regarding the next agreement. We ask that members take as many opportunities as possible to speak to other General Staff about joining the CPSU prior to next year’s negotiations. The more members we have, the more negotiating power we have at the bargaining table, and the better our ability to secure the pay and conditions General Staff deserve! Library MattersDespite a 2 year staffing freeze, the Library began this year with a $1.7 million salary budget deficit. A voluntary redundancy process aimed to shed up to 40 Library staff members by October 2011, placing severe workload stress on remaining staff. After the CPSU repeatedly raised concerns regarding the lack of a change management plan, a plan was partially developed by Library Management before it was again revoked following advice from the University Office of General Counsel. All of this took time. In the end the delays were so significant that University money set aside for redundancies had been fully spent. Had the Library provided a change plan and associated staff consultation avenues from the outset, the process would not have deteriorated as it did. The Library faces a $1 million salaries shortfall for 2012, a new University Librarian from October 2011, and little hope of a much needed salaries budget increase. Redundancies look like being back on the agenda next year. AUQA AuditOn August 1 the CPSU was invited to respond to the Australian University Quality Assurance Audit examining research and internationalisation at the University. Current President Grant Wheeler and previous President Dave Brown presented the CPSU’s perspective on the issues. OH&S ReviewThe CPSU attended a briefing concerning the University’s review of OH&S policy in line with new national standard work health and safety laws which will take effect from next year. The CPSU expressed concern that the requirement of staff consultation in the new legislation was not reflected in the University OH&S discussion paper. As the briefing progressed it became clear that the University and the CPSU were at loggerheads over the interpretation of the legislation – to such an extent that the CPSU wondered if University management had even read the legislation! However before this avenue could be explored the meeting was abruptly closed down. The CPSU will raise the matter again at the next Management and Staff Consultative Committee meeting in late August. PM&D ReviewThe CPSU wishes to thank members for responding to the PM&D staff survey. We are currently collating this information and will use it as the basis of our response to management regarding the PM&D review at the next M&SCC meeting. If you have not completed the survey you can still do so at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CPSUUSYDPMD Direct Appointments PolicyThe CPSU has been asked to respond to proposed changes to the Direct Appointments Policy where all Academic Staff (formerly “Senior” Academic staff only), and to a lesser extent, General Staff can be directly appointed to a position without competitive interview. This can happen under “exceptional circumstances” (what constitutes such circumstances is not made clear), where there is “an exceptional candidate”, or where a position requires “highly specialised skills”. The CPSU contends that should an applicant be “an exceptional candidate”, or have “highly specialised skills”, they are very likely to obtain a position via the regular competitive selection processes anyway, and direct appointments can only serve to narrow the field of potential candidates for a position. Such a policy should only be available where there are “exceptional circumstances” and regular competitive selection processes have been unsuccessful. The CPSU is also concerned that the overall selection and recruitment policy does not acknowledge the review options available to unsuccessful candidates as an obligation of the enterprise agreement. CPSU IN THE PRESSThe CPSU noticed a letter in the Sydney Morning Herald on August 18. In his letter Mr Jeffrey Bentley‐Johnston commented that “Sydney University spends almost as much on non‐academic staff as academic staff” and could improve its ranking by redirecting more funding to academics. Of course this means cutting funding to General Staff. The CPSU thought a reply was warranted on behalf of General Staff so CPSU National President John Cahill submitted the following reply. “I agree with Jeffrey Bentley‐Johnston (“Its Academic”, 18 August) that a 60% increase in research funding for the University of Sydney would result in an enhancement to University rankings. "However, University General Staff conduct, are part of, and are partners in research. They perform invaluable professional, technical and administrative roles in teaching, research and the student experience." "The suggestion that this role is an impost on the University’s excellence is wrong, threatens its standards and aspirations, and ignores the decades’ long and systematic underfunding of the Australian University Sector.” Unfortunately John's letter was not printed. |
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| YOUR CPSU CONTACTS |
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President Grant Wheeler |
Secretary Patrick O'Mara |
Organiser Graydon Plumridge |
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Women's Officer Jacquei Hicks |
Membership Officer Lorraine Falconer |
Industrial Officer Dorothy Molyneux |
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THE CPSU IN YOUR UNION: GET INVOLVED! Authorised by John Cahill, State Branch Secretary of the CPSU, the Community and Public Sector Union (SPSF Group NSW Branch) 160 Clarence Street Sydney NSW 2000 |
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