A recent report released by the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) has unveiled an alarming revelation, identifying that over 97,000 university staff members have been underpaid a staggering amount of nearly $159 million (US$104 million) since the year 2014. The report also highlighted that Victoria, New South Wales, and Tasmania were the states most significantly impacted by the underpayment crisis.
Following the release of the report, NTEU National President Alison Barnes emphasized the need for immediate intervention from governments to overhaul the governance model for universities and ensure the protection of workers from exploitation. Barnes particularly called for a limitation on casual university staff positions, citing the role of casualization in contributing to the occurrence of wage theft.
The union expressed concern over the impact of wage theft on affected employees, noting that it resulted in financial difficulties, with some workers struggling to pay rent and afford basic necessities. The NTEU emphasized that wage theft takes various forms, including being paid for fewer hours than worked, contracting that undercuts agreements, and paying piece rates instead of actual working hours.
The report also noted that the actual underpayment total might be even higher, as there are still ongoing wage theft cases, some potentially involving millions of dollars.
Moreover, the federal government introduced new workplace laws to target wage theft, which aim to address significant issues in universities, including casualization of the workforce. Notably, the proposed laws would impose criminal penalties on employers found guilty of deliberately underpaying staff.
Meanwhile, there has been a debate in the academic community about the underlying causes of wage theft in universities. Some have pointed to the high proportion of casual positions as the main issue, while others have argued that the problem lies in the lack of a proper data recording process. Despite the complexities involved, it is clear that immediate action is essential to address the ongoing underpayment crisis in universities and to safeguard the rights of university staff.