Stock market blamed for university job losses

In the midst of enterprise bargaining, members of the National Tertiary Education Union at the University of Melbourne were shocked by a management proposal to cut at least 220 full-time positions by the end of 2009. The university claimed the sackings were due to the economic crisis.

On August 4, union members voted for a series of strike and protest actions for a new enterprise agreement and to respond to the proposed job cuts.

On July 28, staff received an email from vice chancellor Glyn Davis, which announced an Economic Response Program (ERP) to deal with the university's "financial constraints <193> amid challenging economic times". The email cited a loss "in investment income" of $191 million in 2008 due to the global economic crisis.

Under the ERP, the university proposes to lose 3% of staff positions, or the equivalent of 220 jobs, by the end of this year.

A round of voluntary redundancies will be offered, as well as what it terms a "hiring freeze, fixed-term contract review and alternative employment strategies".

The proposals include a freeze on hiring professional staff, contracts for fixed-term professional staff to be renewed only "where absolutely necessary", "flexible working arrangements such as job sharing, purchasing additional annual leave and phased retirement arrangements" and a program of voluntary redundancies "where positions are no longer required".

The university will be "consulting with staff" until August 18 and has invited staff to put forward their views. But job losses by December 31 are foreshadowed on the ERP website.
The union has demanded management withdraw its proposal for further job cuts and continue bargaining in such a way as to show "respect" to staff and the union.

As the university did not respond to the union's demands by the deadline on August 7, staff will hold a half-day strike and stop-work meeting on August 11. This is to be followed by a protest at the university Open Day on August 16, another half-day strike on September 3 and a 24-hour strike on September 16.

From GLW issue 806