Industrial tension at universities over pay and conditions has reached flashpoint in Australia as the National Tertiary Education Union plans a national 24-hour strike on September 16. More extensive action at individual universities also is on the cards.

Staff at the University of Melbourne yesterday endorsed strike action for August 11 and September 3 to protest against plans to shed 220 staff, while the University of Canberra also faces additional strike action.

As the NTEU seeks to win back conditions lost under the Howard government – such as limitations on fixed contracts, limits on the numbers of casuals, and stricter workload regulation – a new system from 2012 that will be driven by student demand means university managements want to maximise their possibilities of flexibility.

The NTEU executive yesterday agreed to put to the ballot a national one-day stoppage for September 16, at all universities except the eight that have signed or agreed to preliminary deals.

But the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association, which represents 30 university vice-chancellors, claims that the NTEU is seeking to interfere with management’s ability to run their operations.

Arguing that the sector is struggling with tumbling investment returns and a possible slowdown in international student revenue, AHEIA director Ian Argall claimed that “Increasing costs for universities, and putting constraints on them at this time, is very dangerous.”

Mr McCulloch said that the NTEU, which is seeking annual wage increases of 4 per cent to 6 per cent, had staggered its wage claim to take account of the sector’s circumstances. He noted that while some wealthy universities had been hit by falling investment returns, most of the sector wasn’t as exposed and that wealthy institutions were well placed to deal with the shortfall.

By Andrew Trounson from the Australian