BY ISABEL EVERETT
The University of Newcastle will on Monday finalise discussions on proposed measures which aim to save the institution $35 million.
Last month, the University announced they were undergoing a major restructure, to deal with the economic fall out of the COVID 19 pandemic, and the predicted $58 million loss of revenue in 2020.
Changes included combining five faculties into three, staff being required to take an additional ten days of leave in 2021, and offering an early retirement scheme as an option for staff over the age of 60.
The University has been working with the Community and Public Sector Union, and National Tertiary Education Union, over the past 2 months to finalise arrangements.
Last month, the University announced they were undergoing a major restructure, to deal with the economic fall out of the COVID 19 pandemic, and the predicted $58 million loss of revenue in 2020.
Changes included combining five faculties into three, staff being required to take an additional ten days of leave in 2021, and offering an early retirement scheme as an option for staff over the age of 60.
The University has been working with the Community and Public Sector Union, and National Tertiary Education Union, over the past 2 months to finalise arrangements.
The University says the proposed salary measures for 2020 and 2021 are estimated to save $12-$15 million, with every million dollars equating to 8 professional staff jobs or 5 academic staff jobs.
If staff agree to the measures, it's estimated 120 jobs will be saved, depending on the mix of academic, teaching, and professional staff.
However in a statement on Monday, Vice Chancellor, Alex Zelinsky said given the scale of savings required, it is not possible to guarantee that no jobs will be lost over the next 12-18 months.
The University continued to rule out pay cuts to any staff members.
"Our executive will not receive a pay rise and the period of pay pause will be exactly the same as for staff covered by the Enterprise Agreement. I have been clear that we will not consider pay cuts for any of our staff to be part of the University’s response to this crisis."
