UNION MATTERS Issue #28 1 May, 2012 RMIT University Branch

Annual Report reveals RMIT’s priorities

Perhaps in this round of operating to the detriment of RMIT’s 2011 salaries for senior university bargaining, the NTEU should be reputation and sense of purpose. council members and executives campaigning for a maximum wage for senior executives at Consultants $$$$ University Executive Council Officers RMIT. cash in... Members Whilst staff struggle with This problem is exacerbated by an 170,000-179,999 1 understaffing and inadequate over-reliance on consultants who 180,000-189,999 1 resources, the 2011 RMIT Annual are entirely unfamiliar with, and 210,000-219,999 1 Report has revealed that: unaccountable to, the university 220,000-229,999 1 community. RMIT’s expenditure on • At least 10 members of RMIT 230,000-239,999 1 consultants almost doubled from senior staff are on higher salaries 240,000-249,999 1 than the Prime Minister. $11,602,494 in 2010 to $22,609,033 in 2011. 260,000-269,999 1 • A total of $7,945,000 was spent 270,000-279,999 1 on just 23 senior executive Structural problems 280,000-289,999 and councillor salaries up from 290,000-299,999 1 $7,683,000 in 2010. Whilst the annual report showed a healthy $53 million profit for 2011 390,000-399,999 1 $7,945,000 is the equivalent of 129 what it doesn’t reveal is the poor 400,000-409,999 1 HEW 6 professional staff or 105 distribution of resources within 410,000-419,999 1 level B academics. RMIT. 420,000-429,999 1 1 Unjustifiable One example is research output. 430,000-439,999 1 1 Whilst VCE continually asserts 460,000-469,999 1 1 excess the priority of increasing research 470,000-479,999 1 These salaries are unjustifiable in performance, understaffing and high 640,000-649,999 1 a public institution that should be teaching loads leave academics with 840,000-849,999 1 devoted to quality education and little quality time to pursue their research. What’s worse is that we research. This in turn has negative Total remuneration of executive officers 4,845,000 have seen such poor leadership at a impacts on RMIT’s ranking locally Total remuneration senior level. and internationally which affects 3,100,000 us all. of Councillors RMIT’s aggressive pursuit of the TOTAL 7,945,000 Behavioural Capabilities Framework Rather than address this structural via Fair Work shows problem, RMIT continues to set The figures above include executives directly employed that corporate governance or ridiculous research targets and by RMIT as well as its controlled entities, including: RMIT “managerial prerogative” now teaching loads for academic Vietnam, RMIT Training and RMIT Foundation. For further breakdown of the above table, go to pages 136-7 of RMIT’s predominates over all other staff. There is a similar picture for Annual Report 2011. interests. RMIT senior executives professional staff, where staff roles You can find RMIT’s annual reports at: have formed themselves into arbitrarily disappear and vacancies http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse/About%20 an impervious fortress which is are left unfilled. RMIT%2FAnnual%20Report www.nteu.org.au/join Major change in lead Baillieu slashes up to move to SAB TAFE funding In a recent advertisement on This new policy has been critical The Baillieu government will today announce a cut seek.com for a senior executive for allowing professional staff in of up to 22% of base funding to ’s public role in HR, RMIT staff were the College of Business to have TAFEs to take effect in January 2013. These cuts described as “change resistant”. a say in major changes to the will wreak havoc on all stand-alone TAFEs as well However, staff at RMIT have College structure. A number as RMIT and the other dual-sector institutions, absorbed enormous changes of submissions were made by Swinburne, Victoria University and the University and endured successive staff and the NTEU resulting of Ballarat. rounds of restructures and in improvements to Position These cuts are on top of the damage already redundancies. If anything, RMIT Descriptions and classification done by the federal government’s Skills Reform staff are change fatigued. levels. policy which was adopted by the former Victorian All restructures are traumatic government and pursued with a vengeance by for staff and RMIT must show Union Collective Baillieu. much greater restraint in their Agreement The Baillieu Government has already cut $40 enthusiasm for restructures. million from eight large metropolitan TAFEs. Research shows that the protects staff Around 300 ongoing teachers were made experience of poor managing The redundancy clause in redundant and many contract and casual teachers change initiatives in the past are the UCA has also ensured job have been put out of work. Many TAFE staff have one of the greatest contributors security. The clause is designed gone without pay rises since the beginning of to employee resistance to to discourage management 2011 and the Baillieu government continues to change. The NTEU insists from simply discarding withhold approval of Union Collective Agreements that where restructures are dedicated staff. The Business negotiated with TAFE managements. The NTEU necessary they should be done Plan for the current restructure will be meeting with the TAFE sector union, the respectfully and professionally. did not reduce overall staff AEU, to discuss a united response to this issue. numbers and explicitly avoids Relocation redundancies. More information: http://www.nteu.org.au/tafe www.tafe4all.org.au, www.facebook.com/tafe4all The July 2012 relocation of It will be a happy day for all and on Twitter at @tafe4all the College of Business from involved to be out of Building Building 108 in Bourke Street to 108. The NTEU is hopeful that the new SAB Building has been the move to SAB will lead a catalyst for the College to to better accommodation Unsafe Haven? Can we send undertake a restructure of most and improved professional refugees back to Afghanistan? professional staff roles across opportunities. the College, including PANEL DISCUSSION all Schools. 5:30pm–7:00pm Thursday 3 May RMIT Gallery, 344 Swanston Street New managing bookings essential: 9925 1717 change policy This free event is part of the current exhibition in action at RMIT Gallery: Unsafe Haven – photographs of Hazaras in Afghanistan. Speakers: Last year, the NTEU • Abdul Karim Hekmat, photographer, Unsafe used the disastrous Haven and freelance writer restructure process that • Julian Burnside, AO QC, barrister, author, lead to the loss of Business human rights and refugee advocate receptionists in Building • David Manne, Executive Director, Refugee and 108 as an example to win Immigration Legal Centre dramatic improvements • Dr Anne McNevin, RMIT Research Fellow to HR’s managing change and author of Contesting Citizenship: Irregular policy via the Agreement Migrants and the New Frontiers of the Political Implementation Monitoring • Najaf Mazari, Afghani refugee, author: The Committee (AIMC). Rugmaker of Mazar-e-Shari and The Honey Thief

NTEU RMIT University Branch Branch President: Melissa Slee [email protected] phone: 03 9925 8062 RMIT Building 93, RMIT University 22 Cardigan Street, Carlton VIC 3001 www.nteu.org.au/rmit

Authorised by Melissa Slee, NTEU RMIT Branch President