The Federation University Branch of the NTEU has called a lunchtime protest this Thursday, to begin a campaign highlighting damage wrought by endless restructures, job cuts, and course cuts.
Speakers will address the core issues of job security and mismanagement, protesting irrational and incoherent decisions, poor governance, poor student outcomes, and the undermining of regional communities.
FedUni NTEU Branch President Mathew Abbott will speak at the event, calling upon management to stop the mass redundancies and course cuts currently planned for the brand new Institute for Innovation, Science, and Sustainability.
"One third of staff in FedUni's business programs are now facing redundancy, while the number of courses on offer is set to be reduced by two thirds," Dr. Abbott said. "These devastating cuts, aimed at an Institute only formed this year, demonstrate the incoherence and irrationality of management's actions. The Vice Chancellor launched his new industry facing 'cooperative learning' model just a fortnight ago, while he was in the process of destroying our business programs."
The Institute for Innovation, Science, and Sustainability was formed after management restructured the whole institution, enacting another round of mass redundancies. The University had intended to call its new Institutes 'Employment and Start-Up Centers,' while Deans were to be dubbed 'CEOs'.
"The University backed down from this corporate rebrand after an outcry from staff, students, and community members," said Dr Verity Archer, Vice President (Academic) of the FedUni NTEU Branch, who will also be addressing the protest. "While the reversal was welcome, this pattern is becoming a familiar one, as decisions are regularly being made that clash with the values and expectations of the community. Where is the accountability for these mistakes?"
The protest is being held in the wake of FedUni's decision to cut its Bachelor of Arts program earlier this month. While the NTEU welcomed the reinstatement of the program after more backlash from the Union and regional communities, the original decision to remove the BA without consultation exemplifies the issues NTEU members will be protesting.
"FedUni staff are saying 'Enough is Enough' on Thursday because we are sick of mass redundancies and endless restructures," Dr Abbott said. "We want responsible governance, decent management, job security, and transparency. These are basic expectations of a public institution, and yet FedUni management appears unwilling or unable to deliver on the basics."
NTEU members and their supporters will gather at the graduation wall at the front of the Mt Helen campus (off Chancellor Drive) at 12.30pm on Thursday September 1. Photographers and journalists are welcome.
