La Trobe University vice-chancellor John Dewar’s claim that a budget crisis was the reason for proposed cuts of 350 academic and support positions has come under challenge from an education union.
In submissions lodged with senior university management, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) questioned Professor Dewar’s “thinking and behaviour” in foreshadowing wide- spread job losses, claiming his restructure was based on incorrect data and analysis of the position at La Trobe.
“He has fabricated a budget crisis,” the Victorian secretary of the NTEU, Colin Long, told Star Weekly.
“There’s no budget crisis; the university just wants to set up a huge building fund.”
Dr Long said claims of a budget crisis being the reason for the university restructure and job losses were exposed as false by Professor Dewar himself at a recent meeting with staff and students at the Bendigo campus.
He said Professor Dewar told the meeting the cuts were proposed because “there are 500 staff at La Trobe with performance issues”.
“The university does have a performance problem,” Professor Dewar was quoted as saying.
“The fact is that a third of staff are not performing.”
Last year, Professor Dewar blamed the uni’s $65 million “budget hole” on the Gillard government’s cuts to the sector.
