Student Services – Feb 21 (PDF version)
On Tuesday this week TAFE NSW announced a brutal assault on the organisation by slashing almost 700 frontline jobs, leaving campuses across the state unworkable and creating the conditions for a privatisation fire sale.
The proposal is to delete 678 roles across Student Services and Facilities Management & Logistics branches by mid-year.
These two major restructures will see 10 per cent of educational support jobs cut, including up to 470 regional jobs.
It is an affront to all frontline workers at TAFE who have dedicated themselves to this organisation, particularly during the past 12 months. It is a deep insult not just to the staff but to the entire state that this Government is approving this massive job-destroying exercise at a time when TAFE needs to be at the forefront of the post-COVID economic recovery.
The job cuts include people who work directly with students: including: student advisors, customer support officers, field officers, VET fee help coordinators, help desk operators, marketing and promotions support officers. The list is endless.
The Government is also laying off hundreds off workers who maintain the campuses, including gardeners, caretakers, facilities officers, tradespersons, tool store persons, security officers, asset and fleet control managers, and site services assistants.
Regional communities will be hit the hardest with more than 100 regional frontline staff losing their jobs, leaving campuses with virtually no education frontline staff. This represents a complete backflip from the Berejiklian Government that stated no job would be lost in the bush and it would support communities that were bush-fire affected.
The CSPU NSW General Secretary Stewart Little held a press conference today to argue that this gutting of TAFE should not and cannot proceed in the middle of the worst economic downturn that the state has seen in a generation. The government is closing pathways to prosperity.
The union will be fighting these job cuts at every stage. TAFE NSW is a vital piece of infrastructure that must remain in public hands, not dismantled for private operators.
You can see a news story about the conference HERE.
Members, please be advised that union officials and delegates are going through the documentation and are here to support you throughout this entire process.
The consultation period is four weeks, ending on 15 March 2020. We will be seeking member feedback between now and 15 March to include in the CPSU/PSA submission to TAFE.
Many people who currently have applications for conversion in one of these three categories have been enquiring whether they will be converted prior to the placement process commencing in May. The union advice to those members is: as part of these restructures we will ensure TAFE expedites the conversion of all eligible long-term temps to permanent, eligible higher duties applicants to permanent prior to the placement period in May. We are also in discussions with TAFE Industrial Relations around having eligible casuals converted to permanency, too.
This is what we managed to do for the restructures last year, so we do not foresee there being any roadblocks with TAFE following the same process again, now.
The Delegates Council has been forming working groups to address this short-sighted restructure /government cost-cutting exercise. We are meeting today for further collaboration.
Please dial the Member Support Centre for immediate union support. 1300 772 679.
SAVE OUR TAFE – SAVE OUR COMMUNITIES
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Join the Rebuild Our TAFE campaign HERE.
Matthew Drake-Brockman Industrial Officer
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TAFE Digital
