[Muanet] Vic Uni NTEU to fight plan to sack academics

[Chris Latham]

Union to fight uni over plan to sack academics 

Deborah Gough, Education Reporter
June 4, 2006 - 12:33AM 

UNION leaders have vowed to fight a plan by Victoria University to sack
up to 100 staff, many of them older and more experienced academics.

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.

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.

"We also know that some staff basically only put their hand up because
of duress,'' Dr Doughney said.

The university's vice-chancellor, Elizabeth Harman, said the university
had a low attrition rate and it could not sustain staff expenditure
outstripping revenue.

"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.

"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."

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.

Dr Doughney said the university had changed both the numbers needed and
justification for redundancies since revealing the plan last year. 


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