Classes are set to be cancelled for hundreds of students at SAE University College campuses across Australia when staff launch major strike action.
National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) members at SAE – a national creative industries educational institute – will walk off the job on Tuesday in a significant escalation of their push for a fair pay rise and reasonable workloads. Staff have been in negotiations for nearly two years.
Almost all classes in Perth during the five-hour strike are expected to be affected, with NTEU members at the Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Byron Bay campuses also taking industrial action.
Management has proposed a pay increase just one Cent ($0.01) above the minimum award rate, while negotiations over soaring workloads have also stalled.
NTEU National President Dr Alison Barnes said:
"SAE's leaders are out of touch with the needs of their hardworking staff.
"Union members have been left with no choice but to go on strike in the face of SAE's insulting pay offer and lack of progress on out-of-control workloads.
"For SAE staff enduring a cost-of-living crisis, this terrible pay offer is totally at odds with what people need to survive.
"SAE management needs to take these negotiations more seriously. This is the first enterprise agreement at SAE, and must include clear steps to relieve the pressure on staff.
"SAE staff are incredibly passionate about student learning outcomes, but they need to see meaningful progress on a fair pay rise and reasonable working conditions."
