The University recognises the right of staff members to participate in protected industrial action in accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The University also supports staff members who wish to continue to work on days when colleagues are engaged in protected industrial action. The University must continue to operate and provide quality services and operations in support of its students, customers, and clients during periods of industrial action. The University has developed procedures and frequently asked questions to provide guidance in relation to the legal obligations that apply to the University and its staff members and to meet the requirements of the Act.
The University has developed Industrial Action Procedures to provide guidance in relation to the legal obligations that apply to the University and its staff members and to meet the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009.
The following provides general information for staff members who are eligible to take protected industrial action.
Protected industrial action is a form of lawful industrial action permitted by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). Staff members may only engage in protected industrial action where:
Industrial action is unprotected if the above requirements are not followed. Unprotected industrial action is unlawful and opens up parties to action, including disciplinary action, potential claims for damages and other responses.
Examples of industrial action include:
Strike action
A strike is a withdrawal of labour by staff members. Under this action, staff members refuse to attend or perform all work, not just selected duties.
Partial work bans
Partial work bans include staff members refusing to perform part (but not all) of their normal duties.
Stop work meetings and work stoppages
Stop work meetings may be authorised or unauthorised. Stop work meetings that are not authorised by the University and work stoppages are considered as industrial action and effectively operate as short strikes.
Only staff members who are members of a union or who are being represented by their union for a proposed enterprise agreement can vote in a protected action ballot and take protected industrial action.
At present, only NTEU members employed by the University as academic, professional, security or grounds staff can take protected industrial action. No other unions or bargaining representatives have applied for protected action ballot orders.
No, you do not have to participate in protected industrial action, even if you participated in a protected action ballot and, regardless of whether you voted at all, or voted yes or no to the questions in the line protected action ballot. It is unlawful for anyone (including the University, staff members or union representatives) to take adverse action against you or otherwise require or coerce you to participate or not to participate in a protected action ballot or any subsequent protected industrial action.
Staff members who are not participating, or are not entitled to participate, in protected industrial action, are expected to attend work and continue with their duties as normal.
This is an unpaid break and your salary will not be deducted for this period of time. However, you will be expected to observe any picket line protocols that the University may issue in relation to behaviour of staff members participating on a picket line and to comply with professional and respectful behaviour and the University's Code of Conduct.
Advise your supervisor
We ask that staff members participating in industrial action advise their supervisor as soon as possible so that appropriate arrangements can be implemented to minimise disruption to students and the normal work of the University, and in order for their pay to be deducted for the time they take part in industrial action. Supervisors may ask a staff member prior to the industrial action whether they intended to participate in industrial action. There is no obligation for a staff member to inform their supervisor of their intent to participate in industrial action.
Continuing and fixed term staff members to submit a leave request
Continuing and fixed term staff members are also required to submit a leave request in myHR for the time you participated in the industrial action. Details on how to submit a leave request can be found here. The leave request will be sent to your supervisor for approval. Once approved, the amount of time you submitted in your leave request will be deducted from your pay as soon as practicable and this time will be shown on your pay advice.
If you are a part-time staff member, you are only required to submit a leave request in myHR if you normally work on the day of the industrial action. If you do not normally work on the day of the industrial action then you are not required to submit a leave request.
Casual staff members to complete a declaration form
Casual staff members are required to complete a Casual Staff Declaration of Participation in Industrial Action Form as a record of the date and time you commenced strike action or a work stoppage and the date and time you returned to work to undertake full duties. This form is to be provided to your supervisor. If you do not perform any work on the day due to industrial action then no entry should be made on your time sheet. If you perform some work on the day then your time sheet should only reflect time worked as casual staff are paid by the hour.
No, it is unlawful for the University to pay staff members and for staff members to accept payment if they participate in industrial action, other than in the case of partial bans.
If you engage in protected industrial action, you will not be paid for the time you are absent to engage in the strike or work stoppage. If you engage in unprotected strike action (i.e. if you are not a member of the NTEU and/or the industrial action does not meet the criteria for “protected industrial action” in accordance with the Act), you will not be paid for a minimum of four (4) hours on the day you take the action or the actual amount of time if this is in excess of four (4) hours.
Where industrial action takes the form of partial work bans, the University may either:
Where the University decides to reduce or withhold a staff member’s pay, a formal notice will be provided to the staff member by the Executive Director: People, Talent and Culture outlining the reduction (including amount).
The NTEU provided formal notice to the University that their members are to commence partial work bans from 22 February 2023 to 30 March 2023. At this stage the University will continue to monitor the impact on our students and operations only. No action will be taken to deduct the pay of a staff member who engages in any of the partial work bans advised by the NTEU as at 22 February 2023. The University will continue to monitor the situation and will advise staff and supervisors if there is any change to this approach.
Entire day
If the total duration of industrial action that you have participated in is for the entire day you will not be paid for the following hours:
Part day
If you are participating in protected industrial action, you will not be paid for the actual duration of the time you take action. If you participate in unprotected industrial action you will not be paid for a minimum of four (4) hours on the day you take the action or the actual amount of time if this is in excess of four hours. For example, if you participate in industrial action for two (2) hours, the Act requires the University to deduct four (4) hours pay from your salary for unprotected industrial action.
If you normally work on the day of industrial action, then you will not be paid for the total duration of time you engage in industrial action. This would be your fractional hours normally worked on the day of industrial action. If you do not normally work on the day of the industrial action then salary will not be deducted.
If you are required to work on the day of industrial action then you will not be paid for the total duration of industrial action. If you do not perform any work on the day due to industrial action then no entry should be made on your time sheet. If you perform some work on the day then your time sheet should only reflect time worked as casual staff are paid by the hour.
All salary deductions for participation in industrial action will be processed by Payroll Services as soon as practicable.
The University has a responsibility during periods of strike action or work stoppages to ensure that operational requirements continue to be met and that staff members who are not participating in industrial action attend work. Leave applications made by staff members and formally approved by supervisors well in advance of industrial action should continue. However, this does not preclude a supervisor from reviewing leave arrangements to ensure operational requirements are met.
If you are on pre-approved leave and you choose to participate in industrial action, your salary will not be deducted for participating in industrial action during your leave.
If you are absent on the day of strike action or work stoppages due to personal illness, carer responsibilities or compassionate reasons, the Personal, Family Responsibility, Carer’s and Compassionate Leave Procedure outlines supporting evidence and other documentation that may be required to support an application for leave.
Prior arrangements or requests for recreation leave or flexible work arrangements (that may or may not have been formally approved) including variable work time, time in lieu, rostered days off and working from home will usually be honoured. However, when a supervisor is considering whether to approve a leave application or flexible work arrangement, they should consider whether the application or arrangement:
You must continue to observe your obligations under the Code of Ethical Conduct and to respect an individuals’ right not to strike or participate in a work stoppage and attend for work. Whilst you can request persons not to cross the picket line, you cannot threaten or physically obstruct persons who wish to access the University.
Yes. Where picket lines are in place at any of the University’s campuses or buildings, the University will monitor behaviour of staff members on picket lines to ensure that they operate in a respectful and professional manner and will attempt to ensure that unreasonable behaviour is minimised or eliminated.
Staff members not participating in industrial action, and visitors and students, should be allowed to enter University campuses or buildings without intimidation. If staff members, visitors or students are prevented from entering University campuses or buildings, or believe they have been intimidated or victimised when crossing a picket line, they should report the matter to Security and their supervisor as soon as possible.
If you engage in protected industrial action, you will not be paid for the time you are absent to engage in a strike, work stoppage or partial work ban (in the case of a partial work ban, only where the University decides to reduce or withhold a staff member’s pay). This may impact on your superannuation contributions as the protected industrial action will be treated as “leave without pay”. The impact will depend on which superannuation fund you belong to so please check with your fund. The following information is provided as a general guide only for the main funds that cover UniSA staff members’ superannuation contributions.
Super SA
Members will continue to contribute at their normal rate, (unless the industrial action exceeds two weeks, in which case members can elect to maintain their contributions).
UniSuper Defined Benefit
Staff member and employer contributions will reduce for the period of leave without pay and impact on the member’s superannuation and insurance benefits. Periods of unpaid leave reduce the average service fraction that is used in the formula to calculate resignation/retirement and insurance benefits, (e.g. one day leave without pay may reduce an average service fraction from 100% to 99.9999%).
UniSuper Accumulation 2
Staff member and employer contributions will reduce for the period of leave without pay and will have a marginal impact on the member’s superannuation and insurance benefits. Periods of unpaid leave reduce the average service fraction that is used in the formula to calculate insurance benefits, (e.g. one day leave without pay may reduce an average service fraction from 100% to 99.9999%).
UniSuper Accumulation 1
The employer contributions will reduce for the period of leave without pay.
UniSuper Defined Benefit or Accumulation 2 members can make an additional contribution to offset any impact on their superannuation. This top up contribution will be the difference between the reduced contributions and the contribution the staff member and employer would have paid during this period.
Additional contributions will need to be made in either the pay period in which the “leave without pay” occurs, or the following pay fortnight.
If you would like to maintain your superannuation contributions whilst taking part in the industrial action, please direct your request through the AskPTC Enquiry Form.
The University has a longstanding policy position that all staff members have the right to express their views publicly on any matter as private citizens, provided that it is clear that these are the views of the individual concerned and not the views of the University. Please refer to the Public Statement Procedure. However, no staff member may purport to represent the University’s view in speaking to the public or media in relation to industrial action or the enterprise bargaining negotiations, unless approved to do so by the Vice Chancellor.
A staff member may request a review where their pay has been deducted and they believe the deduction has been made incorrectly. An application for review shall be made in writing to the Executive Director: People, Talent and Culture.
The following provides general information for supervisors in managing protected industrial action taken by staff.
While NTEU members are taking protected industrial action, you may be required to:
Through a protected action ballot order from the Fair Work Commission, staff who are members of the NTEU may commence the following types of protected industrial action:
Generally, the NTEU will be required to provide the University with three (3) days’ written notice before protected industrial action can take place. When the University receives such notice, the People, Talent and Culture Unit will advise staff members and supervisors about when this action will take place and steps to manage the action in accordance with our Industrial Action Procedures.
The NTEU provided formal notice to the University that their members are to commence the following partial work bans from 22 February 2023 to 30 March 2023:
At this stage the University will continue to monitor the impact on our students and operations only. No action will be taken to deduct the pay of a staff member who engages in any of the partial work bans advised by the NTEU as at 22 February 2023. The University will continue to monitor the situation and will advise supervisors and staff members if there is any change to this approach.
You can make enquiries with staff members about whether they plan to participate in protected industrial action i.e. partial work bans or strike action as the case may be. It is appropriate for supervisors to plan to minimise any disruption to services, however staff members are under no obligation to advise their supervisor of their intention to take protected industrial action.
We discourage supervisors from asking their staff members about their union membership. Staff members are under no obligation to advise the University whether they belong to a union.
If you receive an email from a staff member written in all capitals, please respond, as normal, if a response is expected or required. Supervisors should exercise their own judgement as to whether a response is necessary.
As a starting point, please email Sarah Ginges from the Employee Relations team in the People, Talent and Culture Unit at sarah.ginges@unisa.edu.au if you have any queries about protected industrial action.