Compulsory meetings about retirement options
Officially the University has denied in The Australian that over 60 year olds are being asked to compulsory meetings to discuss their retirement options. So why are people who are over 60 and in the UniSuper Defined Benefit Plan being asked to attend a meeting with a senior member of staff? What are they being offered as an incentive to leave? And why wasn't this publicised during consultation on the Voluntary Flexibility Arrangements?
In October the Union wrote to management requesting information about rumours that staff were being asked to attend meetings to discuss their future with the University around 1) retirement or 2) performance issues. In late November (after repeated requests) we received a written response which included the statement that, "It is open to the Executive Deans, Directors and other managers to have discussions with their staff regarding the operation of the University, faculty, school or business unit." The response does not provide any clarity around retirement incentives but does say that anyone who believes that they have been the subject of age based discrimination can "contact P&C for review in consultation with Equity and Access."
During November the University released an Organisational Change Impact Statement (OCIS) concerning a range of Voluntary Flexibility Options. One of these options included voluntary retirement and stated, "Staff will be provided with reimbursement of financial/career transition advice up to $3,000 (gross). Agreed departure date within 3 months. Honorary appointments (including access to University facilities such as computer, email and library) will be considered for Academic staff on a case-by-case basis."
The OCIS made no mention of compulsory meetings, it also did not mention that there were additional monetary incentives attached to accepting early retirement other than the reimbursement for financial/career transition advice. However, we heard from members around the University, and we have email correspondence which shows, that these meetings were (and are) indeed taking place and monetary incentives are being offered in exchange for early retirement.
During the December Consultative Committee meeting your representatives were bluntly told that staff would be required to attend these meetings about retirement and if they refused they would be directed to do so. These discussions were couched in terms of being a normal part of workforce planning. During the meeting it was confirmed that the University is using an old policy '9.3 Early Retirement Scheme' to facilitate departures.
It is extraordinary, therefore, that the University would publicly state in The Australian that the meetings are not taking place and for them to be confused with discussions about the more limited benefits available in the Voluntary Flexibility Options. NTEU La Trobe Branch is baffled about why there is so much cloak and dagger around the Early Retirement Scheme and why the University would court negative publicity for no reason.
Our information is that many dozens of staff members across La Trobe University (who are over 60 years old and who are in the UniSuper Defined Benefit Plan) are being offered monetary incentives of tens of thousands of dollars in exchange for early retirement. There is no transparency whatsoever about how these incentives are calculated and we can only assume that people are being made individual offers to see how much money it will take for them to decide to retire. Perhaps the secrecy is so that people won't compare notes about how much departure money they have negotiated?
If members don't wish to attend these meetings with senior management we will back them up as - officially anyway - they are not happening!
Postscript: The Australian, not the Union, has connected the issues around research performance and the Early Retirement Scheme. We don't know if the issues are connected - which would imply that people are being individually targeted - or whether this is simply another measure to improve the budget position.
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Branch Contacts
Branch Office
Room 225b David Myers Building East Bundoora Campus
La Trobe University
Phone: 03 9479 2124
Fax: 03 9479 1503
nteu@latrobe.edu.au
http://www.nteu.org.au/latrobe
Virginia Mansel Lees
Branch President
v.mansellees@latrobe.edu.au
Serena O'Meley
Branch Industrial Organiser
nteu@latrobe.edu.au
Tim Rodrigo
Branch Organiser
t.rodrigo@latrobe.edu.au
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