Mark Johnston for Vice-President (General Staff)

Mark Johnston
USYD Branch Vice-President (General Staff)

I am a Software and Assets Officer in the School of Literature, Art and Media and I have been a committed member of the NTEU for over 20 years.  I have stood in solidarity with staff during industrial actions at the university throughout that time.  I joined the USYD NTEU Branch Committee as Branch Vice-President (General Staff) in 2014.  I have learned so much in the past four years and am seeking another term to use that experience in the service of the members of this branch.

Strengthening the Union

I have worked hard with our membership to strengthen the Union across the University.  The University of Sydney branch is now the largest and most active in the NTEU.  To project the power of our Union, I have partnered with our Branch Organisers to develop the delegates network. At the Centre for English Teaching (CET), we have empowered delegates through participation in the local Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), resulting in substantial gains in conditions and a doubling of NTEU membership in the CET.  With another term, I will continue this organising effort in other professional staff work units.  Delegate training and JCC recruitment are already underway in ICT and AV Services. I am committed to growing the NTEU in Westmead as it joins the University.

Improving conditions

Last year, I was part of the NTEU bargaining team that fought for an ambitious set of claims for the new Enterprise Agreement (EA) and I participated in the industrial actions to put pressure on management to meet our demands.  The new EA significantly improves conditions for professional staff, including:

• better parental leave provisions;
• enhanced conversion rights and payment for induction for casual staff;
• guarantees of payment for work performed;
• the formation of JCCs for professional staff to participate in the governance of their work units;
• stronger redeployment rights for professional staff in the face of sweeping change;
• a requirement for consultation in change management processes before any proposal for change is drafted. 

In a separate negotiation, I worked with CET delegates to secure an increase in continuing positions to be drawn from casual staff, as well as an improved salary scale that recognises outside experience.

This is the leading EA in the sector and was endorsed by 96% of voting staff.

Enforcing the Enterprise Agreement

For the improved conditions we have won to be realised, a steady campaign of enforcement by the NTEU is needed.  From my experience, I anticipate management resistance, particularly with decasualisation and increasing staff participation in governance.  We need leadership that is practiced in taking on management.  I offer mentorship to delegates, so that they can enforce the rights of staff within their workplaces with the full backing of the branch.

Defending members’ jobs

Management intend to dramatically reconfigure the structure of professional staff over the next couple of years.  While I have been able to negotiate improved outcomes for members in past change processes, we have won much better mechanisms for change management and extended redeployment opportunities in the new EA.  I will use my experience of change processes and my intimate understanding of our enhanced industrial rights to fight for every member’s job.

For the whole membership

I am devoted to the principle that the NTEU is run by and for the members.  I don’t represent a party or faction.  If you want a branch that is serious about organising staff and that is representative of the views of the entire membership, I ask for you to vote for me for another term as Branch Vice-President.