Last month VC Carolyn Evans warned staff the university faced a $100m COVID-19 caused loss and next year, “is likely to be worse”  

“We may need to consider a simple variation to our enterprise agreement to be able to determine a sustainable response to the ongoing financial impact of COVID-19 and to protect jobs,” she said (CMM May 22).

Simple but, it now appears, painful. The VC proposes abandoning the Enterprise Agreement pay-rise scheduled for March, deferring salary increment advances to 2022, and a freeze on pay-rises accompanying academic promotions until then.

The university estimates these measures would save 80 jobs next year but as yet there is no word on how many would still be at risk, and where they might be.

The changes will likely be put to campus unions (NTEU and Together) before any staff vote to vary the agreement.