Case study:

University staff strike over insecure work as 'anger and discontent' builds on campus.

Thousands of university staff across Australia have walked off the job this week after years of growing "anger and discontent" over casualisation and wage theft.

Key points:

• University staff nationally are striking and calling for better conditions.
• Only three in 10 jobs in the tertiary sector are permanent, the union estimates.

University of Melbourne computer science tutor Grady Fitzpatrick is among those taking part in the national strike action to protest insecure work. After being a casual or contract worker at the university for nine years, she says she is risking her job to speak out about the precarious work that means she cannot plan for the future or obtain a mortgage.

"If I were to apply for a loan, I don't think I would have anything concrete to back up that I had worked without interruption at the university for close to 10 years, nor that I would have a job in 12 months' time," Ms Fitzpatrick said.

Only three in 10 jobs in universities are permanent, according to the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), making it one of the most casualised sectors in the country. "When people are stuck in insecure work it doesn't just hold back their career, it holds back their life," NTEU national president Alison Barnes said.

Staff anger has been building since ABC News revealed allegations of wage theft at 13 of Australia's 39 public universities in 2020, leading to three federal inquiries.

'Anger and discontent': Permanent staff decry treatment of colleagues.

The NTEU says insecure work and wage theft go hand in hand, estimating university staff have been repaid more than $80 million with the highest figure of $32 million at Melbourne University.

In a statement, a University of Melbourne spokesperson said it would continue to work with staff on a new agreement while minimising the impact on students.

"We will work to make sure that students' learning is not adversely affected [by the strikes] by rescheduling classes, advising impacted students to attend another tutorial if available, or finding other ways to cover the content that has been missed," it said. As such we anticipate that the impacts of this industrial action on our students and staff will be minimal. However, we regret any inconvenience that it may cause to students and any members of the university community."

Question: Who are the three main employment relations stakeholders in the case study and what are their key arguments?