University of Newcastle (UoN) staff have rallied outside NUspace, escalating industrial action as negotiations over pay and conditions remain unresolved after more than a year.

Members of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) walked off the job for 24 hours on Wednesday 18 March, calling on uni management to finalise an enterprise agreement.

NTEU Newcastle branch president and Associate Professor Terry Summers said while progress had been made, key issues continued to stall negotiations.

“The fact of the matter is… we can’t reach agreement,” he explained.

“We have agreed on a number of items and we’ve got four big items remaining.”

Dr Summers said staff had been left with limited options, describing industrial action as one of the few remaining choices available to push negotiations forward.

“We’ve got very few levers to pull,” he added.

The issue remains around pay and superannuation, particularly for part-time staff.

Dr Summers pointed to what he described as inequitable conditions between casual and permanent employees.

“At this university… we get 17% and our casuals get 12%,” he stated.

“That means there is a 5% gap.

“You’ve got the same person, the same job, same qualifications… and getting paid effectively less.

“That is inequitable as far as I’m concerned and it has to be fixed.”

NTEU Newcastle casual representative Sharon Cooper said the issue had long-term consequences for staff.

“I myself have been a casual academic and a part-time fixed term academic for the past 10-and-a-half years,” Ms Cooper said.

“I didn’t get the same superannuation as my colleagues.”

Ms Cooper added that casual staff currently received significantly less superannuation than their counterparts.

“For people like me, I wasn’t receiving that money, which is going to be really important to me in not so long,” she said.

Ms Cooper also raised concerns about insecure work and limited pathways to permanent employment.

“We’re talking about people who have worked in their roles for years… but yet they are being turned down… to be able to convert to a permanent job,” she said.

“That is very shameful.”

An academic from the university’s pathways programs said staff were also striking over workload pressures and broader conditions.

“We’re seeing people taking long-term stress, retiring early, resigning… it really does feel like a sinking ship at times,” they told the Newcastle Weekly.

Despite this, they said staff remained committed to pupils.

“I want to be able to do the right thing by my students and give them a high-quality education,” they said.

“I don’t think they get that when their lecturers are overworked and stressed out, it really does become a 24/7 grind.”

The strike follows the university’s claim that most elements of the agreement had already been settled, with only a small number of issues still under discussion.

In a statement, University of Newcastle chief people and culture officer Martin Sainsbury said headway was made between the parties.

“There’s been significant progress with the assistance of the Fair Work Commission, reaching agreement in principle on the vast majority of items,” he stated.

“The matters of salary and employer superannuation contributions for both casual staff and unpaid parental leave remain under discussion.”

Mr Sainsbury said the university had put forward multiple pay offers, including a 3.45% increase to extend the current agreement and a separate offer of 10% over three years, both of which were rejected.

“Our proposals to date reflect a genuine commitment to delivering fair salary increases and improved conditions that also balance the need for long-term financial sustainability for the university,” Mr Sainsbury said.

Despite the UoN’s position, Dr Summers warned tensions could escalate if a resolution is not reached.

“If the university won’t come to the table, obviously the staff will get even more upset,” he said.

While no clear deadline has been set, arbitration remains a last resort if negotiations continue to stall.

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