Dear Colleagues
You will have this morning received correspondence from the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) advising you that the University of Wollongong (UoW) “have indicated a willingness to commit to no forced redundancies until March 2021 as well as a range of other measures.”
This is unequivocally untrue.
In fact, the Vice Chancellor of University of Wollongong issued a statement on Friday afternoon claiming the NTEU now recognises “no forced redundancies is not viable” and that the union has agreed to maintain strict “confidentiality about the University’s financial position.” Click HERE to see a copy of the UoW update.
We are concerned the NTEU are running a misinformation campaign at Southern Cross that will ultimately result in additional job losses.
Southern Cross has consistently said that downsizing is unavoidable and the University was not in a position where it could commit to maintaining current staffing levels. In response we have been successful in gaining a commitment to an expression of interest process for voluntary redundancy, in an effort to match organisational changes with employee preference, and save as many jobs as possible.
We recognise our colleagues in the NTEU do not support our agreement with SCU. We believe their position is ill considered.
As we have repeatedly pointed out, our colleagues across the sector are doing it tough. Charles Sturt University has announced plans to shed 160 jobs as part of the first wave of restructuring that is expected to result in hundreds of further job losses. The University of Wollongong plans to cut 350 jobs over the next 12 months. These are outcomes we do not want replicated at Southern Cross.
We are convinced Southern Cross will not adopt the NTEU’s National Framework – which requires the University to cede financial control to a third party “expert panel” – and will, instead, respond with more severe cost reduction measures than the savings negotiated with us. We also believe the measures contained in the NTEU’s framework, including 15% pay cuts, would be unacceptable to Southern Cross staff.
There is no question our University faces a genuine financial crisis that requires everyone in the university community to step-up and respond with pragmatic, but difficult, decisions. We have always been honest about this in all communications.
We believe we have made the right call.
SCU PROFESSIONAL STAFF MEETING
The CPSU NSW will be holding a Zoom meeting on Monday 6 July at 12:00pm to explain our position. All professional staff are welcome to attend.
Register for this meeting HERE
Toni Ledgerwood
Shelley Odewahn
Not a member? Join today HERE
CPSU NSW – The Professional Staff Union
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