JCU staff who are members of the National Tertiary Education Union have been locked out of the workplace by the university’s management. They University will dock their full pay on Wednesday for implementing low-level bans such as talking to students about why they are taking industrial action.
Student Services staff member and NTEU JCU Branch President, Dr Jonathan Strauss, is one of those being locked out. He said: “With the other locked-out staff, I implemented some extra work bans to support securing a decent pay offer. We want to be able to conclude enterprise bargaining with some respect shown to us.”
Strauss continued: “JCU staff have not had a pay increase since 2021, while the cost of living has soared. Management’s pay offer on 27 April will still leave staff wages about 10% behind price rises over the last three years. What they’ve proposed for 2024 to 2026 will likely make things worse.”
The union members’ bans were with regard to meetings with supervisors, participation in university events and talking with students in classes about their campaign.
NTEU Queensland Division Secretary, Michael McNally, exclaimed: “It’s outrageous overkill! Management has chosen to refuse to accept any work from these staff, so they will be paid nothing from Wednesday while the bans continue. But none of these bans would have significantly impacted teaching, nor much of the other work the staff do.”
“Management can do better. Its pay offer is less than 2.4% per annum, while total remuneration for the University Executive, as stated in the university’s 2022 Annual Report, increased by $731,000 to $4,338,000 in 2022, an increase of 20%.”
“This seeks to exploit the cost-of-living pressures that staff, particularly lower-paid staff, face, due to no pay rise whatsoever in 2022 and this year,” McNally said. “Indeed, JCU staff are already among the lowest paid in the sector. For universities, their salaries represent a relatively small part of operational expenses. No wonder that annual report states: ‘The University maintains a sound financial position’. So we call on management to agree to better pay.”
Strauss said “Hope comes only through action. We did this last time! We know our action is how we can turn this around. We will act to win a new enterprise agreement that provides for secure jobs, safe workloads and a fair pay rise.”
NTEU members undertaking the bans and their supporters will be gathering at 8.30am Wednesday 3 May at the main entrance to both main campuses to protest about the heavy-handed nature of the lockouts.
Townsville – James Cook Drive, Douglas Campus, in front of the large JCU sign.
Cairns – Access Road entry to the Smithfield Campus.
