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Re: Blog Thread IIIa : Look Who's Blogging Now
Tom:
I just checked my mark for Anatomy from last semester and it's a pass or fail mark now (I passed, naturally). Hooray... I suppose.
On related not, here's an update on how the NTEU's industrial action at UNSW is fairing.
--- Quote ---On January 21 this year the academic and professional staff who are members of the NTEU (i.e. my colleagues and I) voted to remove the S2 2010 bans. This was not because we had come to an agreement with the UNSW administration. It was because UNSW management had started releasing falsified results in an effort to undermine the ban. The NTEU members decided to release the correct results to avoid further damage to the university's reputation by management.
At the same meeting on January 21 progress regarding negotiations between UNSW management and NTEU delegates was discussed. As you are most likely aware, these negotiations have centred around the signing and enforcement of a new enterprise agreement. Enterprise agreements are standard across Australian universities and are essentially a 3-4 year contract between staff members and university management over employment and work conditions.
Unlike all other Australian universities, UNSW does not have a current agreement and has not had one for two years. For the last two years the NTEU has been trying to negotiate with the Vice Chancellor Fred Hilmer and the Head of Human Resources David Ward to get an agreement which is consistent with all other universities. On several occasions during these negotiations it has been made abundantly clear to the NTEU that the Vice Chancellor is not interested in signing any agreement even though it is clearly the desire of the academic staff.
Now after two years of industrial action (including several strikes and two results bans) the negotiations have progressed to the point where we have a drafted agreement which has been tabled for negotiation. Unfortunately this agreement falls well short of the basic conditions of all other universities and it does not provide any ongoing job security for UNSW academic staff. Job security is not only essential for current staff wishing to simply plan their lives, but it is also extremely important for UNSW to be competitive with other universities when attracting new high-standard teaching and research staff.
The members of the NTEU as well as many other non-members of the UNSW academic staff would like to know exactly why is it that the Vice Chancellor is so unwilling to budge on this issue. What is so different at UNSW that the staff do not deserve the same conditions of employment as the staff at all other Australian universities? The answer is absolutely nothing. UNSW is a wealthy institution (a fact which is totally reflected in the current salary of the Vice Chancellor: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/fairfax-ceo-goes-back-to-university/2005/10/16/1129401145633.html) and therefore the staff deserve the right to secure ongoing employment like all other GO8 Universities. The Vice Chancellor argues that it is the uncertainty of overseas enrolments which necessitates the need for short-term employment. This issue has, however, always existed and it does not seem to concern the administrations of all other Australian Universities.
The upshot is we (the academics and professional staff who are members of the NTEU and care about quality education and UNSW's reputation) have made a vow to continue to fight this issue until either the Vice Chancellor shows some respect and compassion for his staff or he is removed by the members of the UNSW Council (the body of ministerial and elected representatives who govern UNSW and appoint the Vice Chancellor see: http://www.secretariat.unsw.edu.au/council/register.htm). We have resolved to have more bans in the future as well as other strategic protests designed to exert maximum pressure on UNSW management. One such protest is to occur on Monday next week (February 21) at 1pm outside the chancellery (i.e. the area to the right of the main entrance to the Clancy Auditorium; also see the attached pdf). The UNSW council are meeting in the Chancellery at 2pm and the aim is to show the arriving council members that we totally disapprove of Fred Hilmer's unwillingness to negotiate on job security. Lunch will be provided in the form of a BBQ, so please come along if you too would like to see this issue resolved and the university's reputation restored.
Cheers and I really hope to see you on Monday
--- End quote ---
p.s. I've also included an email below which was recently sent by the NTEU to UNSW staff for your reading.
If you are so inclined, the following links are to sites which give more information on the issues faced at UNSW.
http://www.ouruniversitiesmatter.com.au/
http://www.nteu.org.au/unsw/
http://www.unswstaff.org/
I find the information at the following link particularly pertinent giving the current situation at UNSW.
http://www.ouruniversitiesmatter.com.au/key/academic_freedom
tl;dr NTEU is now in a position to negotiate a completely unfair deal that is tokenistic at most and as such they will continue to strike. Protest/BBQ outside the Clancy on 21/2 at 1300 if any one wants to support the NTEU/lunch.
JD:
Man you would think with a uncle and a father on their deathbed my mom wouldn't really sweat a dirty house but noooooo.
Barmymoo:
Perhaps cleaning is helping her to cope? As in, a menial task she can focus on may stop her from breaking down entirely. I'm so sorry to hear about your news, that must be really difficult.
I just got back from an exhausting but fun week in Brittany with the family I'm working for, and now I'm about to head off tomorrow for a week at home - or rather at all three homes, in seven days. That is likely to be exhausting too but it'll be the first time in six weeks where I've not been around people aged under 12 and I'm looking forwards to seeing my family.
Also I got an email on Valentine's Day from my ex-girlfriend with the following image:
It is just perfect, in so many ways.
JD:
Well she was actually off in Scotland with her uncle up until now; my grandfather was fairly stable up until the other day. My dad and I had to clean up a few days before because our landlady had do a showing of the house. I think it was okay for her so I don't know why she is complaining. :psyduck:
But she's obviously under a lot of stress so I'll let it slide.
KvP:
My laptop done broke :(
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