The paper reported “not news” on job cuts says John Dewar

On Tuesday Professor Dewar told staff 250-300 full time equivalent jobs need to go this year, to make budget (CMM Wednesday). The Age reported the same, although it described LT U as “a beleaguered institution,” understated to a fault they are not at the paper.

The Age certainly upset the VC, who issued a statement to staff yesterday, that the job cuts required this year, mentioned Tuesday, were announced in 2020 and are not new. “It was not news, even though it appeared in a newspaper,” he said.

Perhaps Professor Dewar did not like the headline on the yarn, “La Trobe Uni to cut 300 more jobs,” which could be read as if they are newly announced.

Or perhaps he is still annoyed by a story in the paper last June, which began ““the university is at risk of going broke in a matter of weeks unless it secures a financial lifeline from the banks and an agreement from staff to cut wages,” (CMM June 4).  If LT U had been talking to banks then (CMM has no clue) this could not have helped – in any case it did not go broke.

Whatever the case, the VC’s  mood may not have been improved by a note to members from the campus branch of the National Tertiary Education Union which suggested management’s estimate of voluntary redundancies last year, 300 FTEs, 335 people, is a bit under.

The union puts it “at closer to 395” which probably includes  departures under the two COVID-19 unrelated restructures in education admin (CMM July 17) and student support (CMM August 14).