New NTEU leadership outlines bold agenda for Australian universities

New National Tertiary Education Union General Secretary Damien Cahill has used his first day in the job to outline a bold vision for a better higher education system. Dr Cahill was elected to the role alongside National President Alison Barnes and National Assistant Secretary Gabe Gooding in a contested election last month. Dr Cahill, who is former NSW NTEU Secretary, has spelled out how he intends to work with members for better workplaces on day one as general secretary. "We will fight hard for new enterprise agreements that give workers across our sector fair pay rises, more secure jobs and sensible workloads," he said. "We'll aggressively and relentlessly prosecute wage theft, which has become an unconscionable and disgraceful part of universities' business models. "Casuals' rights are a massive focus for us. We've seen far too many examples of casual staff not being paid for all hours worked. "We will tackle the scourge on insecure work head on. With two thirds of all university staff employed on fixed-term or casual contracts, there's a lot of work to do, but we are up for the battle. "Recent and upcoming strikes across Australian universities prove our members will never resile from taking industrial action when necessary. "We also want to see enterprise agreements that enshrine protections against chronic overwork, as well as limiting destructive restructures which are totally out of control in universities. "I'll work constructively with Education Minister Jason Clare and the Albanese government, while also holding them to account on behalf of our members. "The federal government needs to outline a better funding deal for our sector and tackle the corporatised university management structures that have led perverse outcomes for workers." Dr Cahill is a political economy academic whose research has focused on the nature and dynamics of neoliberalism.