The Steele case:
Win for unionisation and university independence
by Peter Mac Sacked lecturer, microbiologist Dr Ted Steele, has won a case of wrongful dismissal against his employer, Wollongong University. The case has major implications for the future administration of Australian universities, and for tertiary education in general. In February this year Dr Steele was dismissed for stating that he had been pressured to unjustifiably upgrade student marks. Rather than investigate the allegation with a view to stamping out such practices, he was sacked on the spot. The head of Dr Steele's department said he had caused "very real damage to the reputation and good name of your work colleagues and your employer." The result caused an academic furore, with universities in Britain, Canada, the United States and South Africa imposing boycotts on Wollongong University. The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) took Steele's case to the Federal Court. Last week, after a bruising seven-month hearing, the Court ruled that the University had breached the university staff's enterprise bargaining agreement, which requires a special disciplinary hearing before dismissal proceedings take place. The NTEU is demanding that Dr Steele be reinstated. This is by no means the end of the matter, however. The Court decision does not, in fact, reinstate Dr Steele, nor does it compensate him for loss of earnings or other damages, which must be sought through further legal action. Under the current enterprise agreement the University authorities would be technically within their rights to reinstate Dr Steele and then institute formal dismissal proceedings against him. However, the University is now under intense pressure to put its house in order, rather than to make another blatant attempt to muzzle a whistle-blower. The case has thrown a spotlight on a number of major issues regarding Australia's tertiary education system. Firstly, the matter highlights the growing corruption of the system, and the desperation of authorities, and the increasing economic hardship imposed by federal government policies. This is now manifest in overcrowding and inadequate maintenance of facilities. Australian university authorities have voiced increasing alarm over the effects of the Howard Government's funding cuts. Universities are being forced to raise their own funding, part of which they derive from students who pay full tuition costs. There are increasing pressures for universities to offer competitive enticements to enrol these students. Universities have reduced examinations in favour of written submissions; and stories of "soft" markings in favour of certain substandard students are rife. Plagiarism is now also emerging as evidence of this corruption, and indeed seems to be reaching plague proportions. Ads for "essays" are now displayed openly on uni notice boards. The Steele case has revealed an imminent danger to academic independence, and is vitally important in shoring up a possible major breach in Australia's collective academic integrity. In March, the University of NSW launched a formal enquiry into soft marking and falling academic standards, and other universities have voiced their concern over this academic cancer. And last but not least, the matter has once again illustrated the crucial importance of university staff joining their union, taking part in union activity, and sticking together to defend their rights and academic standards.