The National Tertiary Education Union says staff have lost confidence in Australian National University Vice-Chancellor Genevieve Bell after the latest revelations about her leadership.
College deans have been hauled in to change management meetings, with at least one encouraged to resign, the Australian Financial Review reports.
Earlier in the week, the AFR reported Professor Bell allegedly told senior staff she would “find you out and hunt you down” if they leaked information about planned $250 million budget cuts.
The fresh revelations came after 88 per cent of staff voted against Professor Bell’s proposal for staff to give up an already-agreed 2.5 per cent pay increase due this month.
She also announced plans to slash jobs across the university.
Quotes attributable to NTEU ANU Branch President Millan Pintos-Lopez:
“ANU staff are distressed and scared for their livelihood as a result of the consequences of poor governance, financial mismanagement and a damaged workplace culture.
“Job cuts, on top of jacking up parking prices and threatening to remove the end of year closure, have eroded staff confidence in the vice-chancellor’s leadership.”
"The vice-chancellor needs to spend less time hunting staff who speak up and more time working with us. University workers are the solution.
“Morale is at an all-time low. Staff are miserable. ANU is not an enjoyable place to work, and that's due to the vice-chancellor's leadership culture."
Quotes attributable to NTEU ACT Division Secretary Dr Lachlan Clohesy:
“ANU staff have lost confidence in the Vice Chancellor.
"Staff have emphatically rejected Professor Bell's disastrous pay cut plan – a clear expression of no confidence in her leadership.
“This Vice-Chancellor seems intent on intimidating and sidelining anyone who disagrees with her. This is no way to run any organisation, let alone a public university.
"It appears there is a widening gulf between the Vice-Chancellor and senior management. It's time to end this debacle and repair the damage this is doing to staff and students."
Quotes attributable to NTEU National President Dr Alison Barnes:
“What’s unfolding at ANU is a direct result of a national university governance crisis, which allows unaccountable vice-chancellors on a million dollars a year to wreak havoc on our public institutions.
“We need an urgent federal parliamentary inquiry into university governance to fully investigate the shocking mismanagement we’re seeing at campuses across Australia.
“The Federal Government must tackle a broken governance system that has allowed outrageous vice-chancellor pay, systemic wage theft, cultural problems and financial waste to flourish.”
Contact details:
Lachlan Clohesy 0418 493 355 / Matt Coughlan 0400 561 480
