http://www.theage.com.au/national/tertiary-staff-to-walk-off-the-job- 20090516-b6t0.html Tertiary staff to walk off the job Tom Reilly May 17, 2009 STAFF at six Victorian universities will hold a 24-hour strike on Thursday over demands for improved pay and conditions. More than 80 per cent of members of the country's largest higher education union at Melbourne, Monash, Deakin, RMIT, Victoria and Swinburne universities supported the walk-out, which is expected to see most teaching classes cancelled. The National Tertiary Education Union is demanding a 20 per cent pay rise over three years, a reversal of the casualisation of the workforce and better conditions for staff, including reduced workloads and payment for time spent marking. Union secretary Matthew McGowan told The Sunday Age that staff were "simply demanding a fair deal". "The main issue is that there has been a huge impost put on workers over the last 10 to 15 years: staff-to-student ratios have gone up significantly, we've had workloads go through the roof and people being asked to do more for less," he said. "Eventually, people stop being willing to say 'yes' and their anger and frustration is reflected in the vote over this industrial action." The union, which has 10,000 members in Victoria, says negotiations on pay and conditions have ground to a halt almost a year after initial claims were put on the table. The results of the vote for strike action were announced late on Friday, although the returns from a ballot held at La Trobe will not be known until Wednesday. Some universities have previously told The Age that the financial crisis had affected their ability to pay higher salaries, while others were waiting for the federal budget before entering into negotiations. Mr McGowan defended the pay claim, saying it had been revised down to account for the financial crisis and, at about 6 per cent a year, was not excessive. -- There's a sign on the wall. http://blog.pixnet.net/mattel But she wants to be sure. 'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings. --

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