Slow progress on bargaining!9 April 2026 To start on a positive note, the Deputy Vice Chancellor Indigenous Education, Professor Bronwyn Fredericks, joined the bargaining table to discuss NTEU claims around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment. Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander bargaining rep, Associate Professor Sharlene Leroy-Dyer, outlined our claims to raise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment target, beef up the implementation mechanism to reach that target, improve cultural leave provisions and protect Indigenous knowledges. Management's response was positive and we hope to make progress when management come back to us. Less positively, management rejected in principle our proposal to have a clause in the Agreement to require genuine consultation with staff over the adoption and implementation of Artificial Intelligence systems. Management’s view was that the Organisational Change provisions of the Agreement makes reference to technological change and that the issue was best addressed there. A wholly inadequate response to a massive issue for members. Two delegates from UQ College, Victoria and Gabe came to present the case for incorporating UQ College staff into the Agreement (re-incorporating for those that previously worked at ICTE). Some management reps were genuinely surprised by the level of inequity faced by UQ College staff, receiving less superannuation, less personal and long service leave. Gabe had helpfully worn his UQ-branded uniform. Despite having the claim since December last year, management stated that they had not had a discussion with UQ College about the proposal and raised a series of technical questions that had no impact on our claim. We discussed our proposal for allowances for elected Health and Safety Representatives, Emergency Wardens and Mental Health First Aid Champions. Management will get back to us but rejected our proposal for a standalone allowance for Mental Health First Aid Champions, which seems at odds with their statements around the importance of psychosocial wellbeing. We provided clauses around our previously discussed claims for improvements to Gender Affirmation Leave and Reproductive
Health Leave, but management still said they would have to get
back to us. Finally, we got a partial response to our previously discussed and revised clause around union rights. Management rejected our claim for trade union training leave to be extended to all members, rather than just delegates. This claim is critical for enabling members to know their rights and create safe and healthy workplaces. We will continue to press for faster progress in coming
meetings.
|
