Charles Darwin University pay offer raises cost of living fears, union says

Charles Darwin University‘s latest pay offer will leave staff worse off, a union representative claims as the CDU boss encourages staff to accept the agreement. Vote in our reader poll.

Charles Darwin University’s Scott Bowman says the new EBA would give staff higher pay and increased flexibility. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

Charles Darwin University’s latest pay offer has sparked cost of living concerns for 1700 employees.

The pay rises are part of an enterprise bargaining agreement CDU is negotiating and are below inflation, which rose seven per cent in Darwin in the past year.

The offer is also considered far less than comparable universities around Australia and is the first pay rise for staff in 16 months.

National Tertiary Education Union NT president Darius Pfitzner urged staff to consider what the offer meant.

He said the union was worried about workers’ redundancy rights.

“Increasing the power of management to sack people without due process is one of our concerns,” he said.

The university recorded a $62m surplus last year and has previously said it planned to reinvest the surplus into employees.

Mr Pfitzner said the CDU appeared to be using the surplus to develop the business and was seeking to fund developments through staff pay.

“It’s quite an insidious thing they’re doing,” he said.

“It’s crucial pay rises keep up with the cost of living so staff can maintain their living standard at a bare minimum.”

CDU vice-chancellor Professor Scott Bowman said the new agreement offered staff higher pay rates and increased access to leave.

“The pay rise offer is four per cent upon a majority ‘yes’ vote, with a further two per cent in October 2023 and two per cent in October 2024,” he said.

“Also on offer is a $500 sign-on bonus for full-time staff (pro rata for part-time staff), and $200 for casual staff.”

Professor Bowman said the EBA would also increase CDU’s flexibility by offering work from home arrangements to professional staff.

Voting on the agreement commences on November 15 at 9am and will conclude on November 17 at midnight, he said.

“The vote, which will be anonymous, will be managed by Elections Australia who are a reputable, independent company that has arranged votes for other University elections,” Professor Bowman said.

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Originally published as Charles Darwin University pay offer raises cost of living fears, union says