Deakin University accused of wage theft

The National Tertiary Education Union said Deakin University’s response to claims of wage theft had so far been “appalling”.

Deakin University, Burwood Highway, Burwood. Pictures: Janine Eastgate

Deakin University will be hauled before the Fair Work Commission after being accused of underpaying casual staff millions of dollars in wages for as long as a decade.

Academics claim they are being paid for just one third of their total workload under a ‘piece rate’ scheme, which pays staff per assessment or course instead of the hours they have worked.

The national union alleges that this breaches the university’s wage agreement, which requires Deakin to pay staff hourly.

The exact amount Deakin allegedly owes academics is not yet known, but the Herald Sun understands the total could exceed $5m and affect more than 650 current and former staff.

National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) Victorian division secretary Sarah Roberts said Deakin’s response to claims of wage theft had so far been “appalling”.

The NTEU first launched a dispute with the university in June.

Deakin’s response to claims of wage theft had so far been described by some as “appalling”. Pictures: Janine Eastgate

“Deakin University has left us with no choice but to escalate this dispute in the Fair Work Commission,” she said.

“We’ve provided clear evidence of system wage theft only for them to refuse to pay back the money that is owed.”

On top of demanding staff be back paid, the union has demanded that Deakin apologise and from now on pay staff for the hours they work instead of using a piece rate system.

One former Deakin employee said she was owed about $11,000 for five weeks’ worth of work and that it was common for staff to teach additional units, or ‘overload’ their schedules, to make a reasonable income.

“I am a full-time staff member at a different university, and I have never worked as hard or as long hours as I did when I was sessional (at Deakin),” she said.

A Deakin University spokeswoman said the university had worked closely with the union to resolve the dispute and maintained that staff were paid according to hours worked and not a ‘piece rate’.

“Deakin has been working extensively with the NTEU and staff members to resolve these issues as a matter of priority,” she said.

“Several proposed resolutions have been rejected by the NTEU and Deakin will address the matter at the Fair Work Commission as appropriate.

“We have continued to work on improving our systems to prevent any incidental or inadvertent underpayments, and to ensure that our staff are appropriately remunerated for the crucial work they perform for our students.”

Claims of wage theft have plagued several major universities.

Earlier this month, the University of Melbourne pledged to repay $22m to 15,000 current and former employees.

In February, La Trobe University was accused of withholding $3m in wages.

RMIT University was ordered to back pay employees $10m in November last year in a dispute that was first lodged in 2014.