Dear Vocational Education Casual Staff Colleagues,

We are writing to you as current or former casual employees of RMIT.

Casual work at RMIT is precarious, underpaid, insecure and totally unseen/ignored by RMIT management. Casual work is like a piece of elastic- it expands, and contracts and the amount of work is never recognised by RMIT in your pay rates.

It has been almost two years since the RMIT vocational education agreement expired- and casuals wages and conditions have stagnated against cost of living.

Over the next few weeks, RMIT VE management will be asking you to vote on their proposed enterprise agreement. RMIT management are proposing:

• A flat rate of pay for teaching duties: on average this equates to $53 per hour.
• A flat rate of pay for all other work: on average this equates to $48 per hour

The NTEU wants you to be really clear what RMIT VE management are proposing for casuals in this agreement:

• AT LEAST 26% OF ALL CASUAL STAFF WILL BE SAME/ WORSE OFF under this flat rate proposed agreement. RMIT management admit that introducing a flat rate for all casual work will mean that 26% of casual staff will not be better off in 2023. The NTEU says this is the beginning- that % figure will climb as casuals perform teaching at lower rates of pay over the next three years- less than you currently earn.

• LESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR CASUAL TEACHING WITH ONGOING STAFF DOING MORE TEACHING. All ongoing staff will teach 21 hours per week under this proposed agreement and cover classes for absent colleagues up to 23 hours a year- meaning less teaching work for casuals. With no job security you will likely have less work under this agreement- and less pay.

• CASUAL CONVERSION CLAUSES HAVE BEEN DELETED. RMIT has deleted Casual Conversion from this proposed agreement. You will have no conversion rights under this agreement and are subject only to the FW Act.

• THERE IS NO PERSONAL (SICK) LEAVE. Leave for casuals is ignored under this agreement. The NTEU want personal leave for casuals pro rata- and other leave (gender affirmation; paid parental leave etc) pro rata.

• ALL DUTIES PAID AT THE SAME RATE. Teaching duties paid at same rate as preparation is elastic- there is no distinction between what you are doing when teaching at different levels. You can be asked to teach different classes at higher AQF levels with no higher rates of pay for teaching or preparation time as it is all covered under the same rate. You may find yourself doing more preparation in your own time!

• THERE IS NO ADDITIONAL SUPERANNUATION TO MATCH ONGOING STAFF.  Casual staff are ignored under this agreement to get matching  superannuation payments to ongoing staff

The NTEU believes that casuals deserve:

• Improved rates of pay- recognising type of teaching and all other work undertaken
• Equal number of personal and other leave as other staff (15 days pro rata)
• Equal superannuation as ongoing staff (17% )
• Conversion to ongoing work after 2 years of casual service (pro rata)

DON’T GAMBLE YOUR FUTURE CASUAL WAGES & CONDITIONS, VOTE NO.