Tutors and demonstrators have officially been given a pay rise, ranging from a $1.30 to a $2.99 increase.
Although the scales have only just been updated, the scales will be applied from February 1 2020 onwards. Tutors and demonstrators will be back paid to that time. It is unclear when scales had been previously updated.
The scale is broken down into A, B, C, and D. A has increased from $17.70 to $19. B has had the biggest increase, jumping from $18.51 to $21.50. C increased from $22.58 to $24. Rate D, which applied to graduates and some senior post-graduates, will remain at $29.38.
A University spokesperson said that tutors and demonstrators who have already signed their contracts at a lower rate can expect their contract terms to go unchanged, except for the pay increase.
Will Dreyer, 2019 OUSA Education Officer who helped lead the campaign for increased tutor and demonstrator pay, said he is “extremely pleased that the University has listened” and increased pay above minimum wage, “reflecting the skilled nature of their work”.
“There is still work to do to improve work conditions for tutors and demonstrators – but we should take a moment to reflect on the good change we can create when we work together – students, tutors, demonstrators, staff, Critic, the TEU, and OUSA have all played a role in this success and should be very proud of the work they’ve done.”
Tutors and demonstrators are stoked with the increase. Student tutor, Isabella, said “I feel like I’m finally being valued for my work. Tutorials can be quite draining when you’ve got 20 people… It’s a good reflection of the fact that we do a lot of work and that work is really valuable.”
Ricky, another tutor, added, “I think it’s great that tutors are being paid closer to what they actually work for. Like they’re essentially doing some tasks which the lecturers are paid a full-time salary for but yet tutors are paid barely above minimum wage. So, it’s a step in the right direction but there’s still room for improvement.”
Another tutor, Tyler, said he was “happy” with the increase, but feels “if rate B could get a $3 increase then the other rates (especially rate A) should have been able to get that, too.”