Monash University faces the Federal Court from 4 December after yet more allegations of widespread wage theft from casual academics.
On Wednesday 4th December, 8.30am, casual teachers at Monash University will hold a protest action outside the Federal Court on William Street, Melbourne. Staff are asking the University to settle the case and return full back pay to past and present Teaching Associates who were underpaid.
Federal Court prosecution
The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) is prosecuting Monash University in the Federal Court of Australia, alleging it breached the Fair Work Act by unlawfully withholding pay and superannuation from casual Teaching Associates.
Public hearings will run from the 4th to 6th December in Melbourne.
Background
Monash University faces court over allegations that it failed to pay hundreds of casual teachers for student consultations. Monash University is Australia’s largest university, with a turnover approaching $4 billion in 2023.
Teachers at Monash University claim they were told to undertake scheduled office hours with students without being paid. The underpayments could run to millions of dollars in total.
The case highlights the epidemic of wage theft in Australia’s university sector, with documented cases of underpayment now exceeding $226 million across the majority of Australia’s public universities.
In September 2021, Monash admitted to $8.6 million in underpayments to more than 2,000 casual teachers; that figure was later updated to $10 million.
Quotes attributable to NTEU Monash branch President Dr Ben Eltham:
“NTEU alleges that the University didn’t pay teachers for consult hours with students.”
“We say casual academics at our university are owed millions of dollars of back pay, and NTEU argues the University should admit it’s done the wrong thing, and pay its teachers what they’re owed.”
“Wage theft from staff at Australian universities now totals more than $226 million. It’s a scandal that shows how badly our universities are being mismanaged.”
Contact details:
Ben Eltham, 0422 987 538