‘Mental torture’: Dozens of Qld university jobs on the line

Dozens of jobs could be cut at a major Brisbane university following shock revelations that roles in UniSQ and JCU will be slashed in cost-cutting measures.

There are fears of job cuts at Griffith University.

There are fears dozens of jobs could be cut at a major Brisbane university following shock revelations two other large Queensland campuses will be slashing roles in a desperate bid to cut costs.

James Cook University (JCU) in Townsville has announced it will cut close to 50 jobs in an effort to save costs.

While the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) also revealed that the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) was planning to cut jobs to fill a $32m budget hole labelling it “poor management and an indicator of the failed governance of Australian universities”.

In a statement on Tuesday, Griffith University confirmed that since the end of last year, it had put a range of expenditure controls in place to manage income shortfall including “fewer than 50” redundancies.

As part of JCU’s change proposal due to “continuing financial pressure”, employees were briefed Vice Chancellor Professor Simon Biggs at a staff forum on Monday.

“About 20 of those 50 positions proposed to be disestablished are already vacant,” Prof Briggs said.

“We are addressing the continuing financial pressures we are under, working to grow our student numbers and actively manage our costs. We are refining our management structures and improving support functions and service delivery across JCU.”

NTEU Queensland Division Secretary Michael McNally said they understood larger cuts would be announced in the coming days and weeks.

“The spending priorities of university managements, including UniSQ remain skewed towards vanity projects, ‘strategic initiatives’, research rankings and ridiculously high management salaries,” he said.

University of Southern Queensland. Picture: Supplied

“Leaving staff in the dark about whether they will have a job next year is a form of mental torture. Merry Christmas!”

Mr McNally said it was poor management and an indicator of the failed governance of Australian universities.

“The University is in a good financial position to ride out these short-term deficits. Where are the plans to increase enrolments instead of the knee-jerk reaction of cutting staff.”

NTEU USQ Branch President National Executive Andrea Lamont-Mills said a couple of change proposals had been released now but none had been sent to the union from management.

“Members and non-members have sent them to us. More change proposals are coming but we don’t know when or for what areas.”

“This level of uncertainty is incredibly distressing for our members, not knowing if their area is going to be impacted.”

But a UniSQ spokesman it was reviewing operations and would update staff as part of the consultation process and as decisions are made in the coming weeks.

The spokesman said decisions had not been made on specific staff numbers.

“The University will continue to engage with staff to ensure we maintain our commitment to world-class research, outstanding student experience, and strong engagement with industry and community.”

The statement from Griffith University said due to “significant financial losses” they were working on a sustainable workforce model, advising staff there will be fewer than 50 redundancies.

“Like many universities across Australia, Griffith has experienced significant financial losses due to the impacts of reduced domestic demand, government policies regarding international students, and increasing costs,” it said.

“Expenditure controls are working well, but not all are sustainable.”

When asked if jobs would be cut to save costs, University of Queensland (UQ) said there were no plans for any significant operational changes “at this stage”.

The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) said it had been working on a strategic response to the federal policy proposal to introduce international student caps while the current visa restrictions under Ministerial Direction No. 107 has already placed significant strain on university budgets.

“We continue to wait for certainty around federal policy but our focus remains on delivering for our students and providing a vibrant future for our staff.”