MORE than 70 per cent of staff at the University of Canberra voted to reject UC management’s new enterprise agreement.

The National Tertiary Education Union has been negotiating with UC management for a new agreement since August.

Following two strikes, which raised issues about professional staff and academic workloads, job security and the assistant professor scheme at UC, management put their “best and final” offer to union representatives. It was unanimously rejected.

On October 31 put their proposed agreement to an all-staff ballot, which was voted on last week. Results of the ballot were released yesterday, indicating an overwhelming majority of staff reject UC management’s offer, with 74.1 per cent of respondents voting “no”.

NTEU ACT division secretary Rachael Bahl says UC staff deserve an enterprise agreement that values, supports and respects them.

“We call on UC management to re-commence bargaining as soon as possible, not in the new year,” she says.

“NTEU is available to meet this week.

“Perhaps now UC management will actually listen to staff and to NTEU when we say that staff are not happy with the current arrangements.

“I call on the vice-chancellor to put that praise into action and pay all staff the bonus that was offered – $500 for fixed term and continuing staff, $250 for casual staff.”