But probably not for long

The Werribee-based facility is set to shut as part of the breakup of the Faculty of Vet and Ag Sciences, the constituent schools of which are moving into  Science.

When, or formally if, until process is complete, the hospital goes, vet students will move to “a distributed model for clinical teaching,” (prac training in vet practices).  Uni Melbourne has been looking to cut costs at the vet hospital for a while, savings there as part of the university’s Pandemic Reset Programme, attracted ire 18 months ago (CMM February 22 2021).

When the present proposal was announced last month Uni Melbourne said it was looking for a commercial vet business to take over the hospital, (CMM November 9). But the possibility of closure did not go down well with staff, or community members – it made Nine TV news,  with a reporter asking, “how will it affect the wider community, including anyone who loves pets” (CMM November 23).

An announcement this week is  seven days earlier than some staff expected and there is now an appeal to the Fair Work Commission, asking it to intervene.  The university’s likely response will be that it has met Enterprise Agreement consultation requirements. Management said yesterday that it “has reluctantly decided to postpone announcing the outcomes of its proposal” … until Wednesday.