University of Wollongong (UOW) Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Wellings CBE, has welcomed the support from staff representative unions for the local multi-year job saving agreement reached with their representatives earlier this week.
Local members of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) and National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) have voted to support the employment agreement variations agreed at the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) on Wednesday 15 July.
“I want to thank local unions for supporting the work done at the JCC as we now move to the next stage in this process. We all recognise this is not a position any of us would wish to find ourselves in.
“These are difficult circumstances and none of us want to see employment conditions reduced or jobs lost, but we must restore the University to a financially sustainable position and it has always been my hope that we could do so while preserving as many jobs as possible.
“The creation of UOW’s local multi-year job saving agreement is far superior to the national jobs framework which UOW stepped away from on 26 May.
“Our local agreement brings the interests of both unions into consideration,” Professor Wellings said
The University will now proceed with the formal process of varying its Academic Staff and Professional Staff Enterprise Agreements.
A seven day formal notice period has begun, during which staff will have access to the full details of the proposed variations along with explanatory information.
Following the seven day notice period, a secret ballot will be conducted. If the proposals are supported by a majority of staff who cast a ballot, an application will be lodged with the Fair Work Commission for approval.
The proposed variations are intended to operate for two years.
We collaborate with government, industry and the community to drive our outcome-orientated approach to research and development. These bodies form our multidisciplinary Ideas Network, which equips our tenants with actionable insights to drive local and global growth.
