Yesterday was management’s deadline to reach agreement with unions on a deal to save some jobs by temporarily deferring pay rises 

The campus branch of the National Tertiary Education Union says members will not wear cuts as well as job losses, “this is management having their cake and eating it too.”

On Friday Vice Chancellor Alex Zelinsky told the union that the salary savings proposed are the approximate equivalent of 120 jobs.

He added that the Community and Public Sector Union, which also has members on campus is still talking to management about an agreement.

This creates the opportunity for the university to put an enterprise agreement to an all-staff vote with the approval of one of the unions.

Then again, the last VC who tried this was Adam Shoemaker at Southern Cross U who proposed a savings deal supported by the CPSU and opposed by the NTEU – he lost, (CMM July 13).

There was no word from the university last night as to what’s next.