Chris Hall

A strong union is one that is large and representative. I want the Sydney NTEU branch to grow its membership significantly so that staff at the university have a stronger voice, and more power to improve working conditions for all. Part of the way forward is to have the Sydney branch be more representative of the university staff. This means casual staff need to make up a significant proportion of the branch committee. I have been a casual sessional academic at the University of Sydney since 2018. As a casual I have tutored, lectured, coordinated units, done RA work, and even hired other casual staff. I am well versed with the day-to-day struggles of casual academics, struggles like late contracts, unpaid email and marking labour, mistakes on schedules, and the uncertainty of not knowing if you have work next semester. My workplace advocacy has included helping casual colleagues become informed of their rights, especially around issues of pay. This often takes the form of discussing relevant clauses in the EA. Tangible, positive financial outcomes have come about from these simple conversations with casual colleagues.

I’m nominating because I want to make a difference in the lives of casual staff and fight against casualisation. I will expand my local workplace advocacy and help form branch policy. Causals make up a huge percentage of Usyd staff. They should make up a proportional percentage on the NTEU committee. More casuals are needed on the branch committee to make sure casual issues are better understood and addressed. Casual issues are issues for all staff at the university. Casual issues are issues for all students at the university. I am running as part of Thrive, as I believe in constructive, inclusive advocacy that results in a bigger, stronger union, and a better, fairer university for all.