National Tertiary Education Union members at James Cook University will deliver the Save the JCU 30 petition, signed by more than 600 staff, students and community members, to the Vice-Chancellor in Townsville tomorrow.
A delegation of staff members will meet outside the Chancellery building at 9am before delivering the petition.
NTEU Academic Vice-President Associate Professor Simon Foale says: “We are deeply concerned about the proposed academic job cuts. They would negatively impact JCU’s teaching and research quality, what JCU contributes to our communities and even its financial sustainability.
The petition calls on JCU management to immediately stop the Change Process.
Foale says: “Instead management could hold a thoroughly informed, comprehensive and inclusive discussion of options with staff, students, our communities and other stakeholders.
“Each academic unit's contributions and potential needs to be properly understood, rather than seeing cuts be made on the basis of a poorly constructed metric and someone’s decision that some areas need to be protected and others can go. Management must also communicate their proposals for growth in specific areas.”
Foale says: “The relationship between management and staff at the moment is toxic and adversarial. And people are often afraid to say they disagree with management.
“This is no way to run a university. We want a long-term vision and a commitment to maintain academic excellence.”
Media can meet the delegation at 9am outside the Chancellery (Ken Beck) Building on the Bebegu Yumba (Douglas) campus.
Contact details:
Simon Foale 0408 134 254