University of Southern Queensland to cut at least 60 jobs, union warns
The union representing academic and support staff is calling for the university to come clean on job cuts, with an organiser alleging one department may be slashed by as much as 40 per cent.
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It is feared more than 60 jobs will go across the University of Southern Queensland’s three campuses as it grapples with declining international student numbers.
The National Tertiary Education Union said 27 staff have already been offered a pre-retirement payout to leave their jobs, while a further 33 roles have been slated for redundancies, with one department set to lose about 40 per cent of its workforce.
NTEU UniSQ Branch President Andrea Lamont-Mills called on the university leadership to come clean with staff.
“Staff understand there will be job cuts, they just want to know how many, what departments will be affected and when,” she said
“When we ask management for the information that our members are seeking, its responses have been marked as confidential.
“We are asking why the university is not offering voluntary redundancies, how we got into this situation and what happens next.”
The calls come after James Cook University announced it would cut dozens of positions late last week, while the University of Canberra is set to lose 200 jobs and the Australian National University will cut an estimated 650 positions.
Prof Lamont-Mills said UniSQ’s University College program is expected to lose about 40 per cent of its staff.
“This is the program that develops pathway programs for students from diverse backgrounds, to improve their ability to access education.” she said.
When asked about the job cuts, a UniSQ spokesman blamed “financial pressures” primarily driven by rising costs and government policies, including restrictions on international student numbers, that are affecting the higher education sector.
“UniSQ is not immune; the impact is fewer students and we have to reduce our costs accordingly,” he said.
“UniSQ is reviewing operations and will update staff as part of the consultation process and as decisions are made in the coming weeks.
“Decisions have not been made on specific staff numbers during the consultation phase.
“UniSQ 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.”
Originally published as University of Southern Queensland to cut at least 60 jobs, union warns
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