NEWS ◆
Gabe Gooding, National Assistant Secretary k ggooding@nteu.org.au
H3 Officer column 850 words Body text ◆ Gabe Gooding, National Assistant Secretary
Monash admits to $8.6m in wage theft After the NTEU Monash Branch lodged a notice of concern about the widespread practice of wage theft, Monash University – Australia's largest university by enrolment – disclosed a figure of $8.6 million in an email to staff members in September.
A one-hour tutorial is meant to cover three hours of teaching work: one hour for the class, and two hours for preparation, marking and student consultation. But casual tutors paid at the 'other' rate only receive a flat rate for hours in the classroom: they do not get paid to prepare for classes. The NTEU believes many students at Monash are taught by teachers who are not paid to prepare for their classes.
'wage theft'. Monash prefers the term 'unintentional underpayment.' Senior management at Monash average $500,000 a year in salaries, while Vice-Chancellor Margaret Gardner takes home $1.3 million. It's a fair bet none of these salaries have been 'unintentionally underpaid'.
Monash management and its governing Council are now facing serious scrutiny Monash joins some of Australia's largest from regulators. The Fair Work and most prestigious universities Ombudsman is involved – Monash in the wage theft shame pile. made a voluntary disclosure – and Senior management at Monash The $8.6 million dates back to the Branch is also preparing a 2014 and involves widespread, average $500,000 a year in disclosure to the quality regulasystematic underpayment of salaries, while Vice-Chancellor tor TEQSA. The Branch believes casual teachers. Monash has been Margaret Gardner takes home $1.3 Monash's chair, Rio Tinto director routinely re-classifying tutorials as Simon McKeon, also has questions 'practicals', 'demonstrations', 'labmillion. It's a fair bet none of these to answer. ◆ oratories' and 'studios' in order to salaries have been 'unintentionally avoid paying casual academics at Ben Eltham, Monash Branch underpaid'. the tutorial rate. Instead they are President being paid at the 'Other Required Find out more at Academic Activity' rate, which is nteu.org.au/monash/wagetheft one third of the tutorial rate. The more the Branch digs, the more wage theft we find. Just yesterday we learned NTEU has obtained emails instructing that the Monash Library system stopped lecturers and unit coordinators not to use paying penalty rates for Library staff in the word 'tutorial' in any class materials. August. No explanation was offered by Many tutors who continued to submit the University. their pay at the old rate had their payslips rejected. For Monash's part, their view is that this is all an unfortunate mistake. The There are serious quality implications. Branch has received two letters from the Tutorial rates are designed to ensure that Provost, Professor Sue Elliott, in which tutors have some paid time to prepare we were instructed not to use the term for their classes and mark assessments.
ADVOCATE VOL. 28 NO. 3 ◆ NOV 2021
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