Demonstrating UWS Staff Call For University Executive To Be Removed
9 Dec 2004
Around 100 academics and general staff from the University of Western Sydney attended a demonstration outside today’s meeting of the University’s Board of Trustees to call for the organisation’s senior executive to be removed.
The staff, members of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), are angry about the latest proposal to restructure the university to remove one of its four colleges and up to eight of its existing schools. Holding banners proclaiming “Executive Out, Auditors In” the staff members expressed their anger about what they describe as a state of chaos at the University.
“This university has been continuously restructuring for the past five years and now the senior management want to cut whole Colleges and Schools for no clear reason. Five years of continuous restructure has delivered nothing more than a major financial deficit, dissatisfied students and uncertainty and low morale for staff. It’s about time the senior management were held accountable for this result, rather than trying to cover up the problems with yet another ill-conceived restructure” declared Robyn Moroney, President of the UWS branch of the NTEU.
“There has been no analysis done of the budgetary or educational impact of these changes and staff have no confidence that they will produce any benefits for the University. Western Sydney deserves better than this.”
The NTEU has taken UWS to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission over its decision to have no intake into its podiatry and osteopathy courses for 2005. “The senior management decided to cut these courses without any consultation with the staff, the students or the relevant professional bodies. It’s a knee jerk, cost-cutting response, but typical of the lack of strategic thinking by the University Executive and this is just one of over twenty organisational change issues at this university at present.” said Ms Moroney.
Further information:
Robyn Moroney,
President NTEU - UWS Branch
0417 651 945
Chris Holley,
Senior Industrial Officer NTEU (NSW)
9212 5433
Digital photos of today’s rally are available at www.nteu.org.au/bd/uws/branchnews/botrally . To obtain higher resolution versions or more images, contact Anthony McLaughlin (0411 022 886) or Paul Doughty (0418 290 945).