First, identify all casual staff, then find ways to keep them working

Description

In the name of public accountability, we call on the vice-chancellors of all Australian public universities to  disclose staff numbers, monthly from January 1 2020. We read a lot about the loss of revenue and cost-cutting but very little about the number of actual people working in the Australian higher education system and the loss of their income.

Currently, the Australian Bureau of Statistics defines an unemployed person as one who, during a specified reference period, is not employed for one hour or more, is actively seeking work and is currently available for work. Therefore, we seek a public disclosure on the number of people working one hour or more in the Australian university system. This number should include casual teachers, research assistants, PhD students, professional staff and academics.

The ABS definition of “unemployed” in Australia leaves thousands under-employed, and anyone who just gives up looking for work is not counted at all. Therefore VCs “slash and burn,”  strategies will leave many individuals working in Australian universities unemployed.

Currently, Australian public sector universities in the Department of Education, Skills and Employment university staff data and university annual reports disclose a “full-time equivalent staff number”, but how this is calculated in the university setting is not discussed.

Thus, we have to look to the university reporting to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), the national regulator of charities, and the individual universities Annual Information Statement 2018 ,to find out the number of casuals  Our database shows that as of 31 December 2018 there were just over 80,000 casual employees.