Southern Cross Uni strike

Date: 10 April 2000

General and academic staff at Southern Cross University will strike tomorrow over the university's refusal to offer salary adjustments with universities in capital cities.

A rally will be held at the university's front gates at 9.30 am.

Speaker include Maurie O'Sullivan, President of the Community and Public Sector Union (NSW Branch) and Mark Delahunty, Industrial Officer of the National Tertiary Education Union.

SCU has offered pay adjustments of 7.55% over five years. In Sydney the rises are up to 14% over 3 years.

"The university is not even prepared to offer us a salary adjustment which will keep up with inflation," says the local Chair of the Community and Public Sector, Tom Lane.

"There is no reason why staff at regional universities such as ours should not receive pay equal to that received by our counterparts in Sydney. We are merely calling for equal pay for equal work."

Local National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) President Paul Gannon says that the university's approach to enterprise bargaining will compromise its ability to attract staff and students in future years.

"A quality university needs quality staff. Our success depends on our ability to compete with both Australian and overseas universities.

"With current salaries nowhere near those on offer in capital cities, it is difficult to see how we will continue to maintain high standards of teaching and research in the future," he says.

For further information

Contact:	Jenny McAlister, CPSU Organiser
Union:	Public Service Association of NSW
Phone:	0412 098 237
WWW:	http://psa.labor.net.au/

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