The University of Southern Queensland is on track to lose in excess of 260 jobs as part of a devastating restructure that will result in major course cuts.
While the scale of the cuts suggest a financial crisis is the reason for the plan, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) has warned that justification doesn’t stack up.
Just under 20 per cent of UniSQ’s entire workforce is slated to be cut including 150 full-time equivalent roles this year on top of the 109 jobs cut in 2024.
More job losses have been threatened if voluntary redundancy targets aren’t met.
NTEU UniSQ Branch President Professor Andrea Lamont-Mills said there had been a shocking lack of transparency from university leadership.
“Slashing 20 per cent of the workforce will have devastating impacts for our local communities who deserve access to the highest quality teaching and support,” Prof Lamont-Mills said.
“While management claims a financial crisis is the reason for the cuts, their operating losses over the past two years have mainly been due to depreciation and amortisation. The University does face financial challenges, but no crisis that would justify the scale of the cuts proposed.
“The NTEU is joining forces with students and the wider community to urge management to abandon these senseless cuts.
“It’s essential there are no forced redundancies, an end to the baseless rhetoric around a financial crisis and some real transparency from leadership.
“The lack of transparency shows extraordinary contempt for staff who haven’t even been told about the appointment of an interim vice-chancellor. The chancellor won’t even answer basic questions about the appointment process.
“These job cuts are part of a major restructure, which will define the university’s future through determining how many schools and services are cut.
“Students in southern Queensland shouldn’t suffer because of management’s incompetence. Let’s stop the cuts and work together on a positive plan for the future.”
Contact details:
Andrea Lamont-Mills 0409 639 148 / Matt Coughlan 0400 561 480