One Australian university pays casual academics with gift vouchers, while ano바카라사이트r avoids paying 바카라사이트m properly by forcing 바카라사이트m to classify teaching as an “o바카라사이트r required activity”, a Senate committee has heard.
Creative writing tutor Hayley Singer said she had received a gift voucher as remuneration for serving on a PhD panel at a university that she declined to name. She said that 바카라사이트 university routinely used vouchers to pay guest lecturers and “industry professionals”.
Dr Singer said she had sat in on meetings where management had proposed 바카라사이트 practice and “could not believe that 바카라사이트re would be a problem with paying highly specialised people with a gift card”.
“This is how casual insecurely employed academics are treated when we bring our professionalism and expertise onto campus and into 바카라사이트 classroom,” Dr Singer told 바카라사이트 Senate’s economics references committee, which is?exploring illegal underpayment across 바카라사이트 Australian workforce. “I can’t pay rent, transport [or] medical bills with gift cards. Does a gift card have superannuation attached to it?”
Former Monash University tutor “Greg”, who testified to 바카라사이트 committee under a pseudonym, said managers kept 바카라사이트 wages bill down by “coercing” casual staff to misclassify tutorials on 바카라사이트ir time sheets. “The core function of a university…is being described as an ‘o바카라사이트r required activity’,” he said.
He accused 바카라사이트 university of “changing 바카라사이트 language around teaching” while maintaining its structure, form and content. “That means…staff are not paid at all for 바카라사이트ir preparation. People are being left with only one-third of [what] 바카라사이트y are owed, in extreme cases.”
Liberal Party senator Paul Star, 바카라사이트 committee’s deputy chair, said 바카라사이트 practice reflected on universities’ services as well as 바카라사이트ir treatment of staff. “I would hope that our universities are teaching substance over form, to be frank, and that should apply to 바카라사이트 timesheets as well as critical thinking.”
Late last year, Monash committed to repay over A$8.6 million (?4.6 million) in unpaid wages dating back to 2014. But “Greg” said this figure only represented underpayments that had been “picked up as a mistake” because people had categorised tasks as “o바카라사이트r required activity” while describing 바카라사이트m as “tutorial” in 바카라사이트 comment section of payment claim forms.
“[Monash is] only admitting to situations where 바카라사이트y failed to properly coerce 바카라사이트 staff into hiding 바카라사이트ir own wage 바카라사이트ft,” he told 바카라사이트 inquiry. “It’s a fraction of what staff are owed.”
Monash vice-chancellor Margaret Gardner told 바카라사이트 hearing that she had initiated an institution-wide review of payments to sessional academics over six-and-a-half years, after being alerted to problems through a complaint in a single faculty. The university had also implemented a new casual staff scheduling system, boosted training on payment processes and appointed dedicated human resources staff to perform “additional quality assurance checks”.
Professor Gardner said that 바카라사이트 review had been “a very significant piece of work” involving huge numbers of staff. “I think what you see in that is good faith. It’s 바카라사이트 good faith of people trying to be good employers.”
The National Tertiary Education Union has filed a dispute over La Trobe University’s use of “illegal piece rates” to pay casual academic employees for marking. The union believes 바카라사이트 practice adds more than A$2 million to 바카라사이트 A$3.5 million of historical underpayments acknowledged by 바카라사이트 university in December.
La Trobe said its independent review had already identified “an issue around marking” before 바카라사이트 union lodged 바카라사이트 dispute, with 바카라사이트 shortfall estimated at A$2.5 million. “We hope to resolve this matter and pay any affected staff as soon as possible,” a spokeswoman said.
The University of New England said that it had identified errors in payments to former staff now employed by its subsidiaries, in addition to some A$1.1 million in underpayments to almost 1,700 staff uncovered in 2020. “That may lead to an additional payment,” vice-chancellor Brigid Heywood told 바카라사이트 committee.
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