Australian universities have underpaid their staff by at least A$83?million (?48?million) since 2020, according to an analysis by the academic union.

The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) says the real figure is ¡°almost certainly higher¡±, with several cases unresolved.

NTEU president Alison Barnes said the report proved that ¡°systemic wage theft¡± had been ¡°baked¡± into universities¡¯ business models. ¡°Our public universities are being run like greedy corporations with no respect for paying hard-working staff what they¡¯re owed.

¡°We need fresh root and branch inquiries into rotten university governance. Something is drastically wrong. Let¡¯s get to the bottom of it and fix it.¡±

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The NTEU report says staff have been short-changed in more than 30 ¡°separate incidents¡± across 19 universities, with the tally at each institution ranging between A$17,000 and A$32 million. The analysis does not include three ongoing cases thought to involve at least A$6 million more.

The report accuses universities of ¡°sham contracting¡± to undercut award and agreement entitlements. It says unpaid overtime is common at universities that pay ¡°piece rates¡± based on unrealistic timeframes for marking, while teaching is often misclassified as lower-paid work.

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It says casual staff risk reprisal if they complain. ¡°Many workers are reluctant to¡­ask for compensation for hours worked for free [because] they require contract renewals every teaching period.¡±

Dr Barnes said ¡°rampant¡± casualisation lay at the heart of the issue. ¡°More secure jobs will help stop the scourge.¡±

The NTEU wants the federal government to act on its to criminalise ¡°wage theft¡± at a national level. ¡°Strong penalties including jail for the worst offending is needed to deter this shameful practice,¡± the report says.

It also advocates state and federal parliamentary inquiries into university governance, and calls for the government to implement recommendations from the Senate Select Committee on Job Security.

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They include withholding public funding from universities with too many casual staff, obliging universities to disclose more employment data, and legislating the right for casual and fixed-term university staff to obtain permanent positions.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com