The National Tertiary Education Union proposes a deal  

The union has been talking with a small group of VCs (CMM April 2) but now goes national with a proposal to avoid what it warns could be “tens of thousands” of jobs lost, and staff being stood-down without pay or hope of re-employment.

NTEU General Secretary Matt McGowan asks university managements to “agree to a higher education Jobs Protection Framework.”

The union calls on managements to agree to:

* no new external appointments

* forced redundancies only where work is permanently gone

* protection of casual and low-paid staff “from direct financial measures” with senior managements, “bearing a larger financial burden”

* “union oversight of management actions” for fair management of job protections

* NTEU right to organise and represent staff

The union offers: temporary changes to staff conditions, where an institution faces financial hardship and savings are already made. These could be; “short-term deferring pay rises, pauses on promotions, workload reductions and compulsory leave.