The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) plan to slash 400 jobs and over 100 courses has been put on pause after a ruling from SafeWork NSW.
The university, based in the heart of Sydney, announced plans last month to suspend over 100 courses on offer to students next year, and is reportedly looking at axing up to 400 jobs as it looks to plug a $100 million financial hole.
However, UTS has now been forced to stop the plan for the time being after SafeWork NSW believed workers would be subject to “serious and imminent risk of psychological harm”.
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Under the ruling, meetings planned with staff this week have been cancelled, as is the proposed plan, which was set to be rolled out at the same time.
“In pushing ahead with their disastrous change plans, UTS management once again underestimated the serious and damaging impacts their choices have on staff and the community,” National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) NSW division secretary Vince Caughley said.
Dr Sarah Attfield, president of the UTS branch of the NTEU, claimed the university was uninterested in discussing the concerns staff had about the direction of the university.
“At every turn so far, staff have been met with dismissal after dismissal from UTS management,” she said.
“I hope this decision makes it clear to management that staff have legitimate concerns and they can’t just ram through changes that prioritise profit over people.”
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The issues at UTS come as Australian universities suffer from declining enrolments of domestic students since the pandemic.
UTS rejected some claims made by the NTEU and said it was unhappy with the delays brought about by the SafeWork NSW decision.
“We reject the NTEU’s contention that we have not adequately conducted preliminary consultation on the need for the changes and the desired outcomes,” a UTS spokesperson told 9news.com.au.
“The safety and wellbeing of our staff and the management of psychosocial risks are of paramount importance to us.
“We are frustrated by the ongoing delays in releasing the change proposal for consultation and are very concerned about the impact this is having on our community.
“We have been discussing options with staff to address the issues facing the university since late last year and want to have full and meaningful consultation to find solutions but to do so we need to release the change proposal showing what is proposed so they can provide options and suggestions.”
The university told 9news.com.au cost-saving measures were a necessary step for the university to take.
“The need to reduce expenditure is necessary as we have had deficits for five years and our revenue does not cover our ongoing operating costs,” the spokesperson said.
“This is not financially or operationally sustainable as continued losses erode our cash position and have the potential to compromise our ongoing operations.
“It’s important we address this to protect and invest in our teaching, research and our students.”
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