Rank-and-file members of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) at the University of Sydney (USyd) have launched a ticket for the union elections in August. The ticket聽is campaigning for a fair university and education for all.
RAFA candidates are committed to building a progressive,聽democratic union branch from the ground up. They want the union to be member-led rather than the officials聽driving聽decision-making.
USyd is currently bargaining for a new enterprise agreement. RAFA is committed to building mass support for the industrial action needed to win the branch鈥檚 log of claims, which include: a real pay rise; sick pay; equal super; all hours paid and job security for casuals; job security and redeployment clauses for continuing staff; and defending work load committees.
RAFA鈥檚 vision for a better, more inclusive university聽and what the NTEU needs to do to achieve this is outlined on its .
It wants a democratic workplace where staff and students have a real role in shaping education and research; an end to exploitative casualisation and insecure work (more than 74% of staff are currently on insecure contracts); an end to wage theft; and an end to pervasive overwork.
RAFA believes social justice is an integral part of union organising and is committed to taking a stand against 鈥渞acism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, war and nuclear proliferation, and for causes like climate justice, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander justice聽and Palestinian liberation鈥.
In the context of ongoing industrial action from nurses, teachers and rail workers in New South Wales, building solidarity with rank-and-file workers at other universities聽and in other industries is an important part of RAFA鈥檚 approach.
RAFA argues that rules restricting workers鈥 rights to strike, such as rules preventing striking outside of enterprise bargaining rounds聽or striking in solidarity with workers in other sectors, need to be challenged so that workers 鈥渨in lasting change鈥.
Markela Panegyres, a casual academic and RAFA candidate for branch committee member, told 91自拍论坛 that the ticket represents聽a desire for real change among union members.
鈥淲e want to pursue a transformative vision for a better, inclusive university, and want a more transparent, democratic, accessible and non-sectarian union,鈥 she said.
Voting opens on August 3聽and closes on August 29. RAFA is launching its campaign on July 21. It will also be holding a series of forums about workers鈥 rights and the importance of striking.
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