10 March 2014
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NTEU members at the University of Queensland (UQ) will strike on 11 March for better pay and conditions.
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NTEU UQ Branch President, Associate Professor Andrew Bonnell, said that the University languishes behind others when it came to pay, workloads, and indigenous employment.
He said UQ is in the top three universities in Australia on most indicators but ranks 23rdfor pay and that, despite student numbers having risen by 20% over 5 years, there has been no increase in teaching staff.
The strain this places on workloads obviously has negative consequences for student experience, quality of teaching and research output.
Bonnell also highlighted the number of staff currently engaged in insecure employment.
Around 50% of undergraduate teaching is now performed by casuals paid by the hour. This often comes after years of training and studying. The anxiety and uncertainty this causes for staff is unacceptable.