Friends of Victoria University and National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) organised a protest outside the university’s Flinders Street campus during a Victoria University (VU) council meeting on March 14.
The protest was in response to plans by VU’s management to sack 115 academic staff affecting undergraduate courses in the creative industries, marketing, communication, and professional and creative writing. Six post-graduate courses in communication and education will also be affected.
Students in the affected courses were contacted the week before the semester began and told they would have to go to other universities or accept a different course at Victoria University.
After the protest, activists marched into the foyer of the Flinders Street campus, where the council meeting was being held, chanting “Stand with staff and students, oppose the cuts at VU”. The protesters requested a meeting with management, which was declined.
NTEU VU branch president Paul Adams said this protest is not the end. They will continue to oppose these cuts by holding protests at every VU council meeting and at public forums.
To follow the campaign for on-going actions and protests like Friends of VU on Facebook.
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