General staff accept UQ offer

General staff at the University of Queensland have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the University's general staff enterprise agreement (EB).

Seventy-one percent of respondents (1034 out of 1452 valid votes) voted yes, compared with 28 percent against (418 votes). Almost 50 percent of UQ general staff voted in the ballot, an extremely high rate for a voluntary election.

University Secretary and Registrar Douglas Porter said the University of Queensland general staff enterprise agreement was understood to be among the first EBs accepted in the country.

"The offer was accepted in the face of a vigorous campaign by the only union opposed to it, the National Tertiary Education Industrial Union (NTEU)," he said. "This included a week-long visit from the National Secretary of NTEU, Grahame McCulloch."

The general staff acceptance follows ballots averaging 90 percent in favour of acceptance held by the main general staff unions including the Australian Services Union, the Australian Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union and the State Public Services Federation of Queensland. The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union also supported the offer.

The University offered increases of 2.5 percent in each year of the Agreement. Union negotiators requested re-arrangement of the percentage increases for different Higher Education Worker levels so that lower level staff would be more advantaged. The total, cumulative salary increases over the three year period range from 10.3 percent at Level 1 to 6.12 percent at Level 9.

Another feature of the draft agreement is the introduction of salary packaging, an arrangement that tends to provide greater benefits to those paying higher marginal tax rates.

The offer also provides for enhanced job security and improved redeployment and career opportunities for staff.

Further information: Douglas Porter telephone 07 3365 1310.