The University of Wollongong is asking staff to back a pay cut that would reduce job losses, despite a survey showing 62 per cent of staff voted against changes to their work conditions.
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Staff had been asked to consider a pay cut of up to 10 per cent for 18 months, or a cut of up to 15 per cent for 12 months, or no changes to conditions - with the warning that pay cuts would reduce the number of jobs to be lost.
If no changes were approved, university management had warned more than 300 jobs could be lost as the institution struggles with the lack of revenue from international students as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Today Vice-Chancellor Paul Wellings said all the details of Option 1 would now be provided to staff representatives for reconsideration.
He said accepting the first option could "save 200 jobs".
Given that Option 1 came with a likely 150 job losses, this shows the university was considering axeing up to 350 jobs if no pay cut was approved.
In an email to staff today, Professor Wellings claimed some had not understood the consequences of the options - which had been made clear in emails and media reports prior to the vote.
"A number of colleagues have expressed concern that some staff indicating a preference for Option 3 did not appreciate the full consequences of this selection or had been persuaded that alternative options might evolve," Professor Wellings said.
The results of the survey show the preferred option (62 per cent) was for "Option 3: Status Quo. No changes to employment conditions".
Option 1 (10 per cent cut for 18 months) received 33 per cent of the votes, while Option 2 received just 5 per cent.
The Community and Public Sector Union had dismissed the survey as a "push poll rort".
Professor Wellings said given there was some support for Option 1, he asked staff union representatives to reconsider.
"My view is that we should seek to minimise the number of job losses while securing a sustainable financial position," he said.
"We need to live within our means.
"The selection of Option 3 preserves employment conditions but will necessitate significant job losses and institutional change.
"In order to take every step possible to minimise job losses, I have asked the management team to provide the complete draft variation to enterprise agreements for Option 1 to the Joint Consultative Committee to immediately explore whether our local staff representatives will agree to support that option.
"If accepted, this will save about 200 jobs, which will have a significant impact on the region's economy and support its economic recovery."
Just 30 per cent of responses said they felt they were informed about the university's financial position.
More to come