Union angry that Baptist pay reviews are linked to individual performance Angry staff of the Baptist University are considering strike action to force management to the bargaining table over the introduction of performance-based salary reviews. To Yiu-ming, an assistant journalism lecturer and chairman of the staff union, said management had to realise staff were serious about threats to walk off the job. Mr To said they would not back down until the new system was properly detailed in a 'rational discussion'. The union claims it has been forced to consider such confrontational measures because its concerns have been repeatedly ignored by the university. They fear the proposals are not legal, will restrict academic freedom and reduce the university's global competitiveness. A university spokesman said: 'The existing pay structure is overly rigid, which restricts promotion opportunities, and the salary levels of some of our non-academic staff deviate widely from the market. The new pay structure emphasises reasonable and flexible use of resources.' The university introduced the unpopular market-driven salary pay reviews in April last year and has been slowly phasing them in. But Mr To claims the process has not been transparent and says the consulting company, Watson Wyatt, has not considered that the university is applying private enterprise principles to a public institution. The criteria for the reviews were hidden and not available for staff to examine properly, which the union said suggested the process was subjective and not fair. 'There is no transparency or accountability whatsoever with this process,' Mr To said. 'But there is a good spirit among staff and we are confident the university will come and talk to us.' About 450 staff met yesterday to discuss their options, which include strike action if the university does not sit down with them and clearly outline the system for pay reviews. The new pay structure was introduced in April last year after the university announced a budget deficit of $55 million. Some of the planned pay cuts include slashing associate professors' monthly salaries to $54,500 from $60,077. The pay ceiling for assistant professors is predicted to drop from $66,096 to $60,500, executive officers' starting pay will be cut to $23,850 from $36,060 and non-teaching staff will be invited to take voluntary redundancy. The changes also have ended guaranteed pay rises, which will now depend on individual performance, the average wage for the job and the average cost of living. Mr To said about 30 per cent of staff had already had pay reviews, with many not understanding the process taken by the university. Staff expected salaries to be cut by an average of 10 per cent, with some staff suffering cuts as large as 33 per cent. Mr To said the union could still force changes to the new system before it was introduced universally on January 1. 'We are serious about this and will continue to maintain pressure,' he said.
