ANU Mass Meeting Monday 25 June, 12.30 pm
The NTEU has called a mass meeting of all ANU members on Monday 25 June at 12.30 pm in the Coombs Lecture Theatre. This meeting is a critical event in the rapidly deteriorating situation at ANU and I would urge all member to make every possible effort to attend.
As ANU members would be aware, Vice-Chancellor Ian Young has ignored the overwhelming weight of staff, student and community opposition and is to proceed in dismantling the existing School of Music, dismissing almost half its nationally and internationally renowned academic staff, and attempting to rebuild a replacement. The success of this seems clearly doomed by a mortally damaged reputation and a likely exodus of students and staff; and yet Ian Young seems determined to persist.
This is despite the release of the ANU Annual Report today showing the university in healthy surplus. It provides absolutely no justification for such massive cuts.
The NTEU believes the brutal move on the School of Music is the beginning of a campaign by the Chancelry to attack various areas of the university seen as 'unprofitable' using similar financial misrepresentations and draconian industrial strategies.
The union needs now to demonstrate that this is unacceptable treatment for any academic and general staff working at the ANU. The Vice-Chancellor, through his cold rationalist actions in the School of Music, has showed he cares little for the reputation, welfare or future prospects of ANU staff or, it seems, the University itself.
Now is the time for ANU staff to determinedly respond, and this starts Monday, with a crucial mass members' meeting.
At the meeting we will consider the strong action that is now essential to restore decency, fairness and respect for ANU staff. We need to consider a log of claims to commence the next round of Enterprise Bargaining that insists on decent treatment for ANU staff, real (rather than pretend) consultation and the end of the insidious threat of compulsory redundancy. This will also provides us the opportunity to consider what significant industrial action is now required to support our colleagues in the School of Music and all the other areas that are now clearly on Ian Young's economic rationalist hit-list.
I appreciate how busy we all are. However, this is a critical period that will define ANU's future culture and practices for ourselves and those who follow us. We must stand together now to ensure respect, justice and a decent working life for everyone that works at the ANU.
Therefore, I strongly urge ANU members to attend Monday's mass meeting at 12.30 pm in the Coombs Lecture Theatre.
Stephen Darwin
Division Secretary
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