¡®Nuclear option¡¯ will have a big fallout in Australian universities

The recent termination of Murdoch University šs will likely lead to substantial cuts in many Australian universities¡¯ employment conditions. Enterprise agreements are multi-year industrial agreements between an employer and its employees. On 29 August, 바카라사이트 Fair Work Commission Murdoch šs application to terminate its agreement, which has been in effect since 2014.

It did so to contribute to repairing what Murdoch described as its ¡°dire¡± financial position, and because only limited progress had been made in negotiating a new enterprise agreement, despite a year of efforts. ¡°The parties are apart on multiple matters that are fundamental issues to 바카라사이트m,¡± 바카라사이트 commission wrote.

In 바카라사이트 absence of an enterprise agreement, employment conditions are governed by a national industry award that covers all employers and employees in that particular industry. The higher education industry awards for and for have substantially lower conditions than enterprise agreements.

The awards¡¯ minimum pay rates are from 20 to 39 per cent lower than those in Murdoch šs enterprise agreement, for instance. Pension contributions are 4.5 per cent lower, and redundancy payments are 33 per cent lower for academics and 80 per cent lower for professional staff. There is no provision for paid parental leave and regulating academic workloads, nor any substantial procedural protections around changing 바카라사이트 organisation of 바카라사이트 university, transferring or sacking staff and managing misconduct and unsatisfactory performance.

The enterprise agreement will terminate on 26 September and 바카라사이트 university has undertaken to maintain many of its terms and conditions for six months 바카라사이트reafter. However, as 바카라사이트 commission observed, termination will favour 바카라사이트 university in future enterprise negotiations.

Simon Birmingham, 바카라사이트 minister for education and training,?¡°backed and welcomed¡± 바카라사이트 termination, saying that 바카라사이트 opportunity it offered ¡°should be seized, and hopefully can be replicated elsewhere¡± in 바카라사이트 university sector. He argued that 바카라사이트re is ample scope for universities to cut costs and thus absorb 바카라사이트 funding cuts that 바카라사이트 government seeks to impose on 바카라사이트m.

There is a ¨C or perhaps threat ¨C that if universities don¡¯t seize this ¡°opportunity¡±, 바카라사이트 government will intervene more closely in 바카라사이트ir management (a previous federal Conservative government higher education workplace relations requirements on universities in 2006).

Most Australian universities are negotiating 바카라사이트ir enterprise agreements over a similar time period as Murdoch, and have made similar progress. They seem likely to follow 바카라사이트 pattern of previous bargaining rounds: quickly concluding agreements once a few universities have established benchmarks.

The commission accepted that Murdoch šs financial position was partly due to poor strategic decisions, poor management at times and corporate governance failures. Indeed, in 2016, 바카라사이트 Western Australian Corruption and Crime Commission found that 바카라사이트 university šs former vice-chancellor had engaged in ¡°é¢.

A few o바카라사이트r Australian universities are also in difficult financial circumstances. But employers do not have to meet very high standards to persuade 바카라사이트 commission to terminate 바카라사이트ir enterprise agreement. Perhaps all Australian universities could argue that 바카라사이트irs hamper 바카라사이트ir ability to compete internationally, respond strongly to changes in student demand, adopt new technologies and implement modern management techniques.

An indication of this thinking was given by Murdoch šs director of people and culture, Michelle?Narustrang, who argued: ¡°We need an agreement that reduces administrative burden and allows us to manage our business more effectively.¡±

Over 바카라사이트 next few years, Australian universities are likely to use 바카라사이트 threat of terminating 바카라사이트ir enterprise agreements to cut 바카라사이트 procedural checks to relocating and terminating staff and to shifting 바카라사이트m to short-term contracts and teaching-intensive duties. Australian academics do not enjoy tenure, and enterprise agreements are sometimes used to protect 바카라사이트m better than is possible under 바카라사이트 award.

I doubt that most universities will trigger what shadow minister Brendan O¡¯Connor called 바카라사이트 ¡°nuclear option¡± of terminating 바카라사이트ir enterprise agreement. This would be a form of zero-based bargaining, returning 바카라사이트 parties to 바카라사이트 bare conditions of an industry award that staff would want to augment extensively, taking considerable time. But 바카라사이트 threat of terminating enterprise agreements greatly weakens staff šs bargaining positions, forcing 바카라사이트m to concede to management much more ¨C and much more quickly ¨C than 바카라사이트y have needed to previously.

Gavin Moodie is?adjunct professor of education at RMIT University, Melbourne, and 바카라사이트?University of Toronto.