The University of Wollongong has yet to sign off on a national plan which could see staff agree to pay cuts in exchange for restrictions on redundancies.
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The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and 38 Australian universities are proposing a salary cut of between 5 and 15 per cent to all full-time ongoing staff in the hope it will shore up 12,000 jobs.
On Wednesday UOW welcomed the efforts to negotiate a national framework to help the higher education sector deal with the unprecedented financial challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"UOW acknowledges the value of a national framework in these times, but also remains deeply aware that each university must consider its own unique financial circumstances, stakeholder needs and medium or long-term implications when determining its response," a spokesperson told the Mercury.
Universities Australia, which represents Australia's 39 public universities, has estimated coronavirus revenue losses for the year at $3 to $4.6 billion.
UOW is analysing this national framework in the context of its own circumstances and long-term strategic outlook.
UOW is experiencing a significant financial impact from COVID-19 pandemic, including losses from a decline in student accommodation occupancy and the sharp reduction in international students arising from closed borders. Both of these impacts are not short-term and will flow through to future years.
"UOW anticipates 2020 losses will leave a budget shortfall of about $90 million and anticipates that this 2020 deficit will compound in subsequent years. This scenario is highly likely due to the scale of the global recession and ongoing limitations of movement of people across international borders," the spokesperson said.
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UOW's NTEU branch president Georgine Clarsen said there was still a lot to negotiate but was hopeful the university will engage productively with the staff members to get a good solution at Wollongong.
"Through this framework we hope to encourage the federal government to do better in relation to supporting universities into the future. We also hope to protect as many jobs as possible and to keep the University of Wollongong healthy for years to come," Ms Clarsen said.
"These are unprecedented times. We have worked very hard to find something that will look after staff and look after the university."
UOW said it was committed to working closely with all staff covered by its two employment agreements and will ensure any changes to employment arrangements are subject to the prescribed consultation processes.
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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.
