SafeWork NSW has lifted its pause on UTS’s proposed plan to cut around 400 jobs as the University attempts to deliver $100 million in annual savings.
The temporary pause was in place until last Friday, 5th September, after Vice Chancellor Professor Andrew Parfitt revealed the University reached satisfactory safety measures for staff, to a federal Senate inquiry into the governance of universities.
The University received a pause notice by the workplace safety regulator on the 3rd September after it raised concern on the risk of psychological harm the impending cuts had on staff, with unexpected meeting notices as well as “finalistic” language as reasons, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.
In early June, a column in the Australian Financial Review revealed the University received a “notice to give information” by SafeWork NSW after an anonymous complaint which accused the University of breaching a workplace agreement regarding consultation with staff.
With the pause now lifted, the job cuts from the Operational Sustainability Initiative (OSI) are set to be rolled out in the coming weeks.
The decision comes after the University announced the suspension of 146 courses for Autumn intake next year, affecting prospective students as well as current students intending on taking honours or postgraduate courses.
Speaking at a public hearing at the federal Senate inquiry into university governance, UTS Students Association President Mia Campbell said the decision for the University to push through with the OSI without consultation with academic or faculty boards is a “sidestep”.
Despite having student representatives on UTS Council, the governing body at UTS, Campbell said that current undergraduate representative Chloe Ferraria and postgraduate representative Sreekar Reddy Edulapalli as well as several former student representatives to UTS Council, found student contributions to decisions-making “constrained”, whilst some decisions were already being taken in a certain direction.
Campbell also said that both Ferraria and Edulapalli found out about the temporary suspension of courses at the same time as the rest of the student body, despite being on the governing body which makes these decisions, noting the University not listening to student voices.
“I think it's more that there is a desire not to ask students, because a lot of the time you can just predict exactly how students will respond, which is going to be in opposition to their plans,” she said.
“If they had just consulted through the boards that students are already on, that would be a good starting point, and then maybe more effective consultation processes like student groups could be set up for particular issues. But they're not even doing the baseline at the moment.”
UTS in recent months has been in the limelight over the OSI as well as its internal governance mismanagement. In August, the University announced the suspension of intake for 146 courses for Autumn semester next year, followed by advice given to staff to “wash delicates” or “file taxes” as a way to deal with the stress of potential job losses. In July, the ABC revealed that the Vice Chancellor, Professor Andrew Parfitt, and four other senior UTS executives spent $140,000 for an alumni trip to the United States of America.
Major restructures, course cuts and deficits have been rife across institutions across the country this year.
In July, Macquarie University announced it would be cutting its sociology major as well as 50 academic roles in June of this year, while at Western Sydney University around 400 full time jobs are set to go. Restructures at the Australian National University will see the entire School of Music absorbed into the School of Creative and Cultural Practice, resulting in its one-to-one instrument model being replaced with a multidisciplinary model of teaching.
With job cuts and course changes impending across campuses in the country, decisions made by university management has been met by fierce opposition by staff, through the National Tertiary Education Union, as well students with student led campaigns such as “Stop The Cuts UTS’ and No Cuts At ANU’ propping up at campuses.
Keep up-to-date with these changes by following @stopthecutsuts and @uts_students_association
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