Sausages, speeches and solidarity gave RMIT Strike Week a sizzling start, as hundreds rallied on Bowen Street to show management that after 1000 days of waiting they want a new deal now!
To match the long wait for a new enterprise agreement, the strike is also the longest ever undertaken at RMIT University and it's easy to see why staff are aggrieved.
Since the last agreement expired not only has there been the collective trauma of a global pandemic, with brutal staff cuts at RMIT, but prices have rocketed 15% in a cost of living crisis.
Sensing the mood, NTEU RMIT Branch President Tricia McLaughlin and other staff speakers at today's rally emphasised the long wait for new agreements for higher education and vocational education staff, as well as the plight of insecure workers and the intensification of workloads, with guest speaker, Greens MP Gabrielle de Vietri, slamming federal government intransigence in not tackling governance failures in higher education.
Missed today's rally? Check out the messages, photos and videos below to get a sense of what went on...
As many other workers around the sector enjoy the benefits of new agreements, with better pay and conditions at their institutions, staff at RMIT have been left behind. Despite the ongoing cost of living crisis RMIT management refuses to offer a decent pay rise, workload relief or secure work; and they’re also seeking to abolish hard fought and long standing conditions.
After years waiting for a new enterprise agreement, RMIT staff are striking for real pay rises, fair workloads and secure jobs in the week before Easter break. Over 90% of members voted to take the following three actions:
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A week long strike commencing at 12.30pm on Monday March 25th and ending Thursday March 28th at 11.59pm
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A ban on the use of the RMIT online system Workday (note: This action will not apply in respect of casual staff entering their hours of work in Workday for the purposes of making claims for payment, nor in respect of managers/supervisors approving casual staff payment claims in Workday.)
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Bans on SATs and SAMs (for the purposes of recording student attendance) remain in place indefinitely (be sure to keep paper attendance records)
Support your colleagues during RMIT Strike Week and find out how you can get involved in the bargaining campaign from the options listed below:
Any questions? No worries, just contact your branch office: [email protected]