UTAS staff receive pay rise, one-off $1000 payment, with new agreement to come

University of Tasmania staff have been recognised for their sacrifice over the pandemic with a significant pay rise.

University of Tasmania staff will receive a $1000 one-off payment and 4.6 per cent pay rise from this month as negotiations continue over a new staff agreement.

All university staff covered by the current staff agreement will receive the raise, while fixed-term and ongoing staff earning less than $80,000 a year will be given the additional $1000 payment.

UTAS said the pay increase was issued to recognise the “spike in inflation” and “disproportionate impact of rising costs of living”, with the changes were consistent with the 4.6 per cent increase to modern awards recently handed down by the Fair Work Commission.

The university said it was “exercising executive wage restraint” to achieve the raise for other staffers, with a lower pay increase of 3.8 per cent for staff employed on senior management contracts.

UTAS Vice Chancellor Rufus Black at the old Forestry building in Hobart.

UTAS Vice Chancellor Professor Rufus Black said the raise had been granted amid ongoing negotiations over a new staff agreement because “cost of living pressures are here now”.

“We are committed to paying people fairly and part of doing that is recognising that we are in an inflationary environment,” Prof Black said.

“While negotiations with unions and staff representatives on a new staff agreement continue, we want to pay people as we intend to, and we want to do that now.

“Through the ongoing work to deliver a new staff agreement, the university wants to deliver fair pay over the life of the agreement, increase job security and ensure leave and support for its people at critical moments in their life.

“This includes gender affirmation leave and a new category of medical leave for people facing intensive medical care such as cancer treatment.”

Prof Black praised the sacrifice of staff during the pandemic, which he said had saved jobs.

“Our staff have experienced a challenging two years due to the impacts of Covid and agreed to sacrifice a planned two per cent pay increase in June 2020, as well as deferred pay increases associated with promotion and incremental progression,” he said.

“That helped save jobs and allowed the University to pay a two per cent bonus in December 2021.”