Untitled - Annual Report 2004 - The University of Western Australia

Staffing and Related MattersON STAFFING matters The University of WesternAustralia remains committed to ‘the recruitment,development and retention of the highest quality staff’to achieve its mission.This is supported by an employment philosophy of providing job security through ongoing employmentwhere possible. This has meant a low level of casual employment relative to the rest of the university sector and hasensured high quality fields for most employment vacancies. Within the higher education sector the University is awell-regarded employer as is documented through a range of survey data and awards over recent years.Personnel and Employment RelationsThroughout 2004 enterprise bargaining negotiations were a significant area of activity. Negotiations were carried outfor Academic, General, English as a Second Language (ESL) and Child Care staff. Replacement Academic and GeneralStaff Agreements were finalised at the end of 2004 and lodged with the Australian Industrial Relations Commissionon 22 December. Key outcomes for the University included more rigorous performance management provisions,alteration to the provisions for the clearing of long service leave, greater flexibility in superannuation and expandedparental leave arrangements. The negotiations of ESL and Child Care Agreements are yet to be finalised. The industrialimplications of the legislation introduced following the Nelson Report, as part of the Government’s reform agenda, hadnot yet been clarified at the end of 2004.The University of Western Australia continued to make a significant contribution on the national stageparticularly through its involvement in industrial matters with the Group of Eight (Go8) universities. The Go8 led thenegotiations for a conciliated agreement on settlement of the casuals case, components of which have been localisedand implemented through the enterprise bargaining process. Negotiations have commenced at the national levelwith respect to the Redundancy Test Case and the Go8 will again play a lead role in shaping these negotiations andoutcomes.Following the introduction in 2003 of a University-wide Risk Management policy and programme, major risksto the University have been assessed and risk treatment plans prepared. Significant safety incidents during 2004included a hydrogen gas laboratory explosion and two incidents of electrical shock. A safety induction video forcontractors was launched. There were 267 incidents and injuries reported with 82 accepted workers’ compensationclaims and a total of 238 lost work days. While the number of incidents was similar to 2003, lost time was almosthalved.After a comprehensive evaluation, the University’s Workforce Diversity Strategy, a proactive recruitmentcampaign to reach out and attract a more diverse range of employees, was further consolidated with theappointment of an Indigenous Employment Co-ordinator and implementation of a project in the Law School.The Equity and Diversity Office presented the findings of an analysis of gender equity data to seniormanagement across the University and anticipate this information will lead to local level strategies.University-wide collaborative projects during 2004 have included Physical Access and Way Findingto support the needs of staff, students and visitors on campus. The access and way finding needs of peoplewith a disability are a particular focus of this project.During 2004, the University advertised 353 job vacancies in print media and online. TheUniversity recorded 957 staff commencements (361 academic, 11 at executive level and 587 general)and a total of 615 staff left their positions. There were 86 applications for academic promotion,continued overleafpage 25