I would like to provide you with an important update on negotiations for new enterprise agreements covering academic and professional staff.

Our current enterprise agreements contain some of the most generous terms and conditions in Australia and the sector, which we are committed to maintaining and enhancing through the enterprise bargaining process. Substantive negotiations commenced in May last year with the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU). The unions tabled the final proposed changes to our current enterprise agreements on 16 February 2023.

At our bargaining meeting yesterday, the University tabled a pay offer to union representatives and presented a proposed framework and approach to resolving outstanding issues with a view to finalising enterprise bargaining as soon as possible so that staff can benefit from proposed salary increases and other enhanced conditions.

University pay offer

The University recognises that salary increases will be a priority for staff given the continued increases to the cost of living over the last 12 months. We also appreciate that maintaining competitive salaries is critical if we are to continue to attract and retain the best people.

We have therefore tabled the following proposed salary increases to union representatives:

• 5% salary increase on approval of the new enterprise agreements by staff
• 3.5% salary increase effective in 2024 (effective 12 months after the previous increase)
• 3% salary increase effective in 2025 (effective 12 months after the previous increase)

Together with the 2% salary increase provided outside the enterprise agreements last year, this equates to a cumulative pay increase of more than 14% from 2022 – 2025. We consider this to be a fair pay offer which balances the need to appropriately recognise and remunerate our high-quality staff with the need to ensure that any increases are sustainable and responsible. It is also consistent with salary increases agreed or proposed at other universities and will maintain our competitive position in the sector.

Update on other bargaining matters

I am pleased to share that there are a number of other areas where we believe substantial agreement has been reached with union representatives or where the University has proposed resolutions to issues raised. Areas of substantial agreement include:

• Improved provisions in relation to flexible work aligned with our Flexible Work Framework
• Protections in relation to work-life balance and disconnecting from work
• Improved casual conversion provisions for professional staff
  20 days per annum of Domestic Violence Leave for continuing and fixed-term staff and 10 days per annum for casual staff
• Commitments in relation to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment

University proposals specific to academic staff colleagues include:

• A commitment to create a minimum of 60 new Teaching and Leadership positions over the life of the enterprise agreements. This builds on the work we have already done to create opportunities for more secure forms of employment for casual academic staff – noting that we have created 86 Teaching and Leadership positions since 2018 and that 68 of these are occupied by staff who were previously casual academics at the University
• Inclusion of a set of principles in the enterprise agreement to support fair and equitable models for academic workload
• A more coordinated process for the Outside Studies Program (OSP) across faculties

Other proposals from the University include:

• 20 days per annum of gender affirmation leave as a separate category of leave and in addition to other leave entitlements
• Improvements to our provisions in relation to redeployment
• Some clarifications to our leave provisions so that they are easier for staff to interpret and navigate

The unions have raised concerns in relation to our processes for managing workplace change. The University is committed to continuing to discuss and explore how these concerns are most effectively addressed.

A more detailed summary of areas where substantive agreement has been reached and proposals from the University is available here.

Next steps

We have asked that the NTEU and CPSU consider our pay offer and proposed framework for resolution. The University will also table draft clauses which provide more detail in relation to some of its key proposals. Negotiations will continue as all parties work towards a mutually acceptable resolution of outstanding issues. Please be assured that the University is committed to negotiating with union representatives in good faith and progressing enterprise bargaining as expeditiously as possible so that staff can benefit from salary increases and enhanced terms and conditions. I will continue to update staff as negotiations progress.

The provisions of the current enterprise agreements will continue to apply until new enterprise agreements have been approved through a staff vote and then by the Fair Work Commission.

If you have any questions about the enterprise bargaining process, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the enterprise bargaining team at bargaining@mq.edu.au in the first instance.

Regards

David Ward
Chief People Officer
Macquarie University