Griffith Uni says $100m will mean 300 job losses
One of Queensland’s leading universities says the downturn in students from the coronavirus pandemic has cost them $100m and hundreds of jobs on its campuses are at risk.
Tertiary
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A QUEENSLAND university has warned 300 jobs will be lost as the tertiary sector reels over the loss of international students, and research and commercial revenue due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Griffith University has revealed its loss of income this year is about $100 million during 2020, with a potentially greater fall in revenue forecast next year, ahead of “several years of serious financial pressure”.
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The university has initiated discussions with staff to consider agreeing to foregoing a pay rise in 2021 as part a variation to staff’s enterprise agreement – a move which the university estimates would save them the equivalent of about 80 positions.
But even if staff agree, the university expects about 300 positions will still need to be axed.
“Most of this reduction is hoped to be through Voluntary Early Retirements and Voluntary Redundancies, but there may be a need for some retrenchments,” a spokesman said.
“Griffith is committed to ensuring the protection of as many positions as possible and will continue working with staff, unions and stakeholders.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the tertiary sector, with Universities Australia’s most recent modelling suggesting tertiary institutions could lose $16 billion in revenue between now and 2023 because of the crisis.
Revenue losses for the remainder of 2020 are likely to increase, now estimated at between $3.1 billion and $4.8 billion, according to the modelling.
The university had already drawn on financial reserves and taken cost saving measures such as the reduction and delay of capital projects, limiting staff recruitment, freezing senior staff salaries and a 20 per cent pay cut in executive salaries.
“At this stage, there have been no decisions on which areas of the University might be affected.
“We continue to engage with the government on funding arrangements that will ensure the sustainability of the University’s teaching and research activities.”
It follows revelations that staff at Queensland University of Technology staff could face an overhaul of working conditions as the institution tries to mitigate a $100 million shortfall caused by COVID-19.
QUT staff will vote on pay-rise freezes, moratoriums on forced redundancies and temporarily halting the payment and accrual of leave loading, as the institution proposes a raft of changes this month to employee’s enterprise agreements in a cost-saving move.