A Western Australian university has become the first to offer Indigenous staff special compensation for contributing cultural knowledge to non-Indigenous colleagues.
Murdoch University, in South Perth, announced on March 27 that First Nations employees can claim up to $8,944 per year for providing Indigenous knowledge and perspectives outside their given role.
The payment, called the ‘Cultural Workload Allowance’, is compensation for the additional workload taken on by indigenous staff.
This could mean working on Indigenous initiatives during NAIDOC or Reconciliation Week, or simply being asked by a colleague about Indigenous culture.
First Nations Pro-Vice Chancellor Chanelle van den Berg said Murdoch University was proud to be the first to provide the grant and hoped it would encourage others to offer it.
First Nations staff at Murdoch University (pictured), in South Perth, will be able to receive just under $9,000 a year for providing cultural knowledge to non-Indigenous staff
The university revealed that only First Nations staff doing non-required work on Indigenous issues can apply for the grant.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Deeks said it was an important step towards recognizing often invisible contributions.
“We recognize that all First Nations employees contribute to the cultural responsibilities within the university, and I appreciate and commend that contribution,” he said in a statement.
“This new grant is simply intended to formalize that recognition and set a precedent for how cultural burdens are handled in the workplace, especially in settings where there are few First Nations employees.”
Ms Van den Berg said the university’s First Nations staff are “often sought out for cultural guidance and consultation during their work”.
“It is only fair that they are recognized and compensated for the important contributions they make,” she said.
She hopes the grant will spark a movement where other universities and companies in Australia will provide similar funding.
“I think it would be great if wider Australia recognized that Aboriginal people work above all else because they want to make change,” Van den Berg said. NITV.
Payment can be made for participating in Indigenous initiatives such as NAIDOC or reconciliation work, or for answering questions about Indigenous culture in the workplace
It is the latest step by Murdoch University to become the first choice for tertiary education for First Nations people.
The university recently established a School of Indigenous Knowledges led by Associate Professor Bep Uink, in addition to two new senior positions.
Graduates of the school will ‘learn how to engage in truth-telling, reconciliation, relationship building and positive contributions within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities’.
Employees who are required to use an indigenous language as part of their course will also receive compensation for their level of understanding.
Those with an elementary language level who can master simple communication will receive a stipend of $1,862 per year.
Meanwhile, employees who speak any of about 150 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages for “the ordinary purposes of general business, conversation, reading and writing” receive $3,727 a year.