UNIVERSITY of Newcastle staff have voted overwhelmingly to reject the institution's proposed new enterprise agreements.
The institution announced on Friday the results of the staff ballot, which was held between Tuesday and Thursday this week after negotiations with unions stalled.
UON said in a statement that of the 1676 eligible voters on the academic staff and teachers agreement, 1085 voted. There were 971 no votes and 114 yes votes.
Of the 2725 eligible voters on the professional staff agreement, 1720 voted. There were 1295 no votes and 425 yes votes.
National Tertiary Education Union Newcastle president Associate Professor Terry Summers welcomed the outcome.
"It was a very good result for the staff at the university," Dr Summers said.
"Overwhelmingly both professional staff and academic staff rejected the agreement that management put forward.
"That's a very, very, very resounding no, so management hopefully are now able to read the tea leaves properly and will come to the bargaining table next year with a far better agreement. This is only the start.
"They've got to come back to the table and actually bargain in good faith, what they did at the end of this year with the proposal they put forward, with the agreement they put forward was clearly not listening to the staff at all, so they've got to come back and bargain in good faith and give us an agreement which is acceptable to staff, that's what it comes down to.
"At the moment they have completely not listened to their staff, it's as simple as that."
The branch said in a statement the result was a "vote for secure jobs, safe workloads and fair pay for all university staff".
It said a better deal could be achieved for all parties and it would resume bargaining in good faith.
"The timing of the ballots meant that many casual and sessional staff were not eligible to vote and we heard from many who were frustrated and angry their voices could not be heard," the statement said.
"The commitment of staff to quality teaching, innovative research, and student support is what ensures the reputation of the university. Their contribution must be valued. Staff working conditions are student learning conditions.
"The NTEU will continue to fight for staff conditions and to ensure that we protect members' rights."
Vice Chancellor Professor Alex Zelinsky AO said UON had felt it was important to proceed to a staff ballot after 15 months of negotiations with unions.
"We've heard clearly that the package of benefits we are offering in the new agreements isn't right yet," Professor Zelinsky said.
"We will take some time to reflect on the feedback we have received from staff directly over the past week about what is most important to them.
"We will engage further with our staff early next year as we consider the next steps."
He said the proposed agreements included a 9.5 per cent salary increase over three years, six additional days of paid leave per year, more flexibility in the use of other leave and an increase in superannuation for casual staff from 10 to 17 per cent.
The existing agreements will remain in place and there will be no change to salaries or conditions at this time.
UON tabled its revised offer on November 28 with the aim of securing an agreement before Christmas, but union members voted to reject it.
UON announced on December 5 negotiations had reached an "impasse" and it would go to a staff ballot.
Staff could review the agreements from December 6 to 12.
Voting was open December 13 to 15.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Newcastle Herald website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.
