Union Slams Academic Workloads at UTAS

Media release – National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) Tasmania Division, 21 November 2023

UTAS unfair workload allocations undermine quality learning and teaching

The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) Tasmania Division has expressed its outrage and disappointment over the unrealistic and unsustainable workload allocations for academic staff at the University of Tasmania (UTAS).

The NTEU Tasmania Division Secretary, Dr Ruth Barton, said that the workload allocations are too high, they sit outside the staff agreement, and over 100 staff have written to the workload review committee, the Academic Workload Consultative Committee (AWCC), to seek help to resolve a dispute about workloads.

“The staff agreement allocates 20% of time to academics for administration and community engagement, but there is a push towards capping this at 10% of hours. Research time for academic staff has been cut, teaching time has increased, and marking time has been reduced by up to 80% in some cases,” Dr Barton said. “We’ve been advised senior staff have said the AWCC is a toothless tiger, and we don’t care what the AWCC says”.

Dr Barton said that the workload allocations are not only unfair and unreasonable, but also detrimental to the quality of learning and teaching at UTAS.

“Staff want to ensure students are protected to learn, have innovative curriculum and to ensure higher standards for learning and teaching at the university. But how can they do that when they are expected to do more with less? How can they provide meaningful feedback to students when they have less time to mark each assignment? How can they engage in innovative and impactful research when they have no time to do it?” Dr Barton said.

Ms Barton said that the workload allocations are also likely to result in wage theft and underpayments, as staff are forced to work beyond their contracted hours to meet the unrealistic expectations.

“UTAS is already facing a massive wage theft scandal, with ‘Project Aurora’ uncovering more than $15 million dollars of staff under-payments, with approximately 1500 people still not contacted about underpayments. Workload models which attack terms and conditions of employment are likely to result in situations where UTAS will face further significant claims for underpayments,” Dr Barton said.

Dr Barton said that the NTEU Tasmania Division is calling on UTAS to work with staff to review and revise the workload allocations, and to consult with staff and the union to ensure fair, transparent and reasonable workloads for academic staff.

“We are not asking for anything unreasonable. We are asking for UTAS to respect the staff agreement, to respect the staff, and to respect the students. We are asking for UTAS to uphold its reputation as a quality institution of higher education, and to invest in its most valuable asset: its people,” Dr Barton said.

Dr Barton said that the NTEU Tasmania Division is prepared to take further action if UTAS does not address the workload dispute appropriately.

“We will not stand by and watch UTAS destroy the quality of learning and teaching, and the wellbeing of staff and students. We will continue to fight for fair workloads, and we will not hesitate to escalate our campaign if UTAS does not listen to us,” Dr Barton said.

The NTEU Tasmania Division invites the media, the public, and the UTAS community to support its campaign for fair workloads, and to visit its website and social media platforms for more information.