BY DAKOTA TAIT
The University of Newcastle's proposed enterprise agreements put to staff have been overwhelmingly rejected.
The separate agreements for Academic and Professional staff members went to an all-staff ballot after negotiations with unions stalled after 15 months.
Of 1,085 academic staff who voted, 971 voted against, and just 114 for the agreement.
Among the professional staff, 1,295 of the 1,720 voters also voted against their agreement.
It wasn't mandatory for staff to have their say, with 1,085 of the 1,676 eligible academic staff voting, and 1,720 of the 2,725 eligible professional staff voting.
Vice-Chancellor Alex Zelinsky says they'll engage with staff and take time to reflect on the feedback.
"We’ve heard clearly that the package of benefits we are offering in the new agreements isn’t right yet," he said.
"We will engage further with our staff early next year as we consider the next steps."
The proposed agreements included a 9.5 percent salary increase over three years, six additional days of paid leave per year, and increased flexibility in the use of other leave, as well as an increase in superannuation for casual staff from 10 percent to 17 percent.
The National Tertiary Education Union has raised concern, however, regarding pay, workloads and job security.
The union will resume good faith bargaining with management, and says the vote is "a resounding message to management that they will not be bullied".
The existing enterprise agreements will remain in place in the meantime, and staff have been advised to expect more information in early February.
