Staff will not have a 'bar' of any of the options outlined to return the University of Wollongong to a financially sustainable position.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In fact Georgine Clarsen, the UOW branch president of the National Tertiary Education Union, said there were 'big problems' with the proposals outlined by Vice-Chancellor Paul Wellings during a live webcast on Thursday.
Professor Wellings briefed staff on the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on UOW's finances, actions taken to date and options o recover from a projected $90 million budget shortfall.
The first two options would result in job losses of up to 200 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) positions.
Should staff vote for the 'status quo' option, it would result in possibly double the job losses forecast in the first two options.
"We will mount a 'a vote no to everything and come back with something better' campaign," Ms Clarsen said.
"His three options are really all the same. They all involve job losses but none of them provide any enforceable certainty about their size....'trust us' is all we are offered.
"There is no enforceable time limit on any proposed cuts. There is also no transparency of finances - again he seems to be saying 'trust us to make savings and to know how many jobs have to go'.
"No union inclusion in negotiations or union vote on proposals before it goes to all staff - instead we are offered an individual 'straw poll' - in two days."
Ms Carsen said the VIce-Chancellor needed to know "this isn't good enough, come back with more guarantees for us".
"We want to let our staff know that we can say no to all three of those options," she said. "There is nothing about how long these austerity measures will last for. There is no certainty or transparency."
Prof Wellings told staff that savings already achieved needed to be maintained and more found until the end of 2022 while UOW worked to recover its lost international student enrolments.
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
