The University recognises that its Employees have the right to take lawful Industrial Action in accordance with the Act.  The University must also continue to operate and provide quality services to its students, customers and clients during periods of industrial action hence the University supports those Employees who wish to continue to work on days when their colleagues are engaged in Industrial Action.  This procedure has been developed to accommodate the obligations of the University to students and the wider community and to meet the requirements of the Act. 

Employees will not be paid for any period that they participate in Industrial Action. No Employee will have their pay debited if they attend work and perform their full duties.

An authorised stop work meeting may take place by agreement between the employer and the relevant union or a group of Employees. Employers sometimes find it convenient to authorise a stop work meeting, for example to allow a union to recommend a Workplace Agreement to Employees or to lift industrial action.  A meeting like this does not constitute industrial action.  Likewise, a meeting held during a lunch break or out of ordinary hours would not constitute industrial action.  An unauthorised stop work meeting is effectively a short strike, and time spent at a stop work meeting that would normally be work time may be unpaid (see s470 of the Fair Work Act 2009).

Employees should make every reasonable effort to enter the campus but if prevented from doing so, they should report to their People Leader of their area by telephone as soon as possible.  The University will monitor the behaviour of picket lines and will take all reasonable steps to prevent unruly or abusive behaviour and minimise any risk to the safety of Employees, students or visitors of the University.

Employees wishing to cross a picket line, either on foot or in a motor vehicle, should be able to do so and should not engage in any altercation with picketers.

Drivers of motor vehicles must not attempt to speed or drive aggressively through a picket line and should under no circumstances drive their vehicle in a way that threatens or causes harm or injury to any person.

The Full Federal Court has held that picketing is not in itself “industrial action” for the purposes of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and it can never therefore be “protected industrial action”.  Staff who absent themselves from ordinary duties to attend a picket line are treated as being on strike.

The Act provides that it is unlawful to pay Employees and unlawful for Employees to accept payment during periods they are taking Industrial Action, other than in cases of partial work bans

(s. 470(1)).  Where industrial action takes the form of partial work bans, the University may either:

People Leaders have a responsibility during periods of Industrial Action to ensure that operational requirements continue to be met and that Employees who are not participating in Industrial Action attend work.  If a leave arrangement is made and approved correctly and well in advance of the Industrial Action the arrangement should not be cancelled.  Prior arrangements to take flexi time or some form of time in lieu may need to be cancelled. If the People Leader does not wish to cancel such an arrangement they should satisfy themselves that the arrangement was made well in advance of the Industrial Action; will not impede operational requirements being met and is in accordance with University Governance Documents.

In other cases, People Leaders should not approve any form of absence from work, including work from home arrangements, leave applications, time in lieu arrangements, rostered days off and other short term leave unless the People Leader is satisfied of the following:

Unless they are participating themselves in the Industrial Action, People Leaders are responsible for minimising any disruption to the normal work of the University. This includes:

Staff are responsible for advising the University whether they participated or are participating in Industrial Action.

Staff participating in the Strike will not have superannuation contributions made for the period they are on trike as this is not approved leave, therefore no Employee or employer contributions will be remitted to the relevant Superannuation fund on behalf of these staff.  Employees will have the option of maintaining both Employee and employer superannuation contributions for the period of the Strike, but the option to maintain Employee contributions only will not be available.

Employees should report to their People Leader any cases and provide particulars of alleged misconduct and/or serious misconduct e.g. instances of excessive or discriminatory verbal abuse, harassment, threats, insults, assault or personal injury, obstruction, besetting or the deliberate interference with free passage at the workplace or public road, damage or theft of property when crossing a picket line or on University premises or of being ostracised as a result of having crossed a picket line.

In addition to any civil action that may be taken, the University reserves the right to investigate cases of alleged misconduct and/or serious misconduct and take any disciplinary action against a Employee or student who breaches this procedure.