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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Union</span></font><font size=4><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'> to fight uni over plan to sack academics<u1:p></u1:p></span></font>
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Deborah Gough, Education Reporter<br>
</span></font><date>June 4, 2006 - 12:33AM</date><u1:p></u1:p> </p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>UNION leaders have vowed to fight a plan by </span></font>Victoria
University to sack up to 100 staff, many of them older and more experienced
academics.<br>
<br>
The National Tertiary Education Union branch president, James Doughney,
said the union had lodged a dispute with the Australian Industrial Relations
Commission and expected it to be heard this week.<br>
<br>
Dr Doughney said that despite an earlier call for 50 voluntary redundancies,
which resulted in 62 academics applying, the university was now seeking
forced redundancies from older academics.<br>
<br>
"We also know that some staff basically only put their hand up because of
duress,'' Dr Doughney said.<br>
<br>
The university's vice-chancellor, Elizabeth Harman, said the university
had a low attrition rate and it could not sustain staff expenditure
outstripping revenue.<br>
<br>
"All universities are facing changing course demands; VU is no exception.
Many redundancies will be because there is no longer any realistic demand for
many of the courses these academics teach," Professor Harman said.<br>
<br>
"We will not continue with courses for which there is no longer a
demand - it makes no sense, from either an educational or financial
viewpoint."<br>
<br>
She said the university would be investing in new courses that were in demand,
particularly in Melbourne's western suburbs, such as teaching, nursing and
logistics.<br>
<br>
Dr Doughney said the university had changed both the numbers needed and
justification for redundancies since revealing the plan last year.<u1:p></u1:p>
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