FED: Uni students face disruption from two day strike

AAP General News (Australia)
08-16-1999
FED: Uni students face disruption from two day strike

By Rosalind Mathieson

CANBERRA, Aug 16 AAP - Students building up to final exams at one of Australia's leading
universities face disruption this week if a planned two day strike goes ahead.

The Australian National University's (ANU) 3,000-plus staff will meet tomorrow to make a
final decision on whether to strike over pay and conditions.

National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) ACT division assistant secretary Peter Davidson
said he believed staff would vote to go ahead with the 48-hour strike.

"We had given the ANU management until the close of business today to come up with an
offer, but they have not done so," Mr Davidson told AAP.

"So tomorrow all unions on campus will hold a meeting of members to report this fact back
to them.

"It would be my assumption they will confirm the two day strike."

ANU vice chancellor Deane Terrell said the strike would place undue stress on students as
teaching programs were building up to exam preparations.

"It is unfair of the union to seek to turn a disagreement with management into a potential
penalty on students at this busy time of the year," Professor Terrell said in a statement.

"The strike is especially disappointing because last week the university paid a three per
cent above award salary increase to demonstrate it does not want its staff disadvantaged by
the delay in concluding a new enterprise bargain."

The university could not afford the 16 per cent rise being sought by staff without further
job losses, he said.

Mr Davidson defended the possible strike against the disruption it could cause the
students.

"It's never an easy decision and I think it goes to show the amount of angst among staff,"
he said.

"Industrial action is not a natural state of play.

"If the university does not address the issues before them then they are disadvantaging the
students on a long term basis by turning it into a second rate university."

Aside from the pay claim, unions are pressing for action on job security and protection of
award conditions now removed as allowable matters under the federal government's award
simplification process.

AAP rmm/mfh/sr/br

KEYWORD: STUDENTS

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