Aussie universities "run on the backs of poorly paid, insecure workers"

The pandemic exposed the university sector’s ‘dirty little secret’; namely, its reliance on staff with insecure work contracts.

Around 70% of the sector’s staff are on such contracts, either part-time or casual, while the underpayment of staff is widespread.

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) recently investigated 14 universities over potential underpayment of staff since the start of the pandemic, and UNSW, Monash, Sydney and Melbourne universities are among the universities to have ‘owned up’ to millions of dollars in underpayments.

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.

Aussie universities “run on the backs of poorly paid, insecure workers”