Bans lifted as Monash reaches agreement with union

8 December 2004

Monash University and the National Tertiary Education Union have reached agreement on the last outstanding elements of their Enterprise Bargaining Agreement.

The agreement came as the university sought the assistance of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission in lifting union bans on students receiving their results. About 15,000 students have been affected by the bans imposed by the union last month.

Today the NTEU has authorised its members to release immediately all withheld results. Monash faculty managers are meeting this afternoon to ensure those results are issued as soon as possible.

As part of the EBA, all academic and general staff will get a 24.5 percent flat pay increase from the beginning of this year to the end of March, 2008. Four percent of the total has already been paid to staff in two increments this year, as a goodwill gesture while the EBA was being negotiated. Another increment of 1.5 percent will be paid after December 31, 2004.

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and Planning) Professor Alan Lindsay said the agreement was a good outcome for both the university and staff.

Professor Lindsay said it guaranteed industrial stability, streamlined performance management processes and meant staff salaries were competitive with the other leading universities in Australia, improving Monash's ability to attract and keep quality employees.

He said the lifting of the bans would be relief for students.

"Our focus now is to get those remaining results out as soon as possible," Professor Lindsay said.

For further information contact Mr John DuBois in the Media Communications office on +61 3 9905 2040.