To Vice Chancellor Peter Dawkins and the Victoria University Council,
It is with considerable alarm and shock that we protest Victoria University’s decision to target three out of four branch officers of the VU NTEU branch for redundancy. These redundancies are happening as bargaining for a new VU enterprise agreement is about to begin, suggesting that VU management has adopted a very adversarial position by targeting key staff best situated for the negotiations.
These redundancies are part of a significant restructure at VU, which involved large cuts to courses and staff positions, forcing students to look for alternative courses elsewhere or leaving many students without senior and experienced teaching staff. The targeted redundancies of the three NTEU branch officers were also raised in the Victorian parliament on 19 October 2017.
We are extremely concerned that VU management’s actions will damage the university’s reputation and commitment to providing good quality education for Melbourne’s westerns suburbs.
We demand that university management immediately halt the actions against the three elected union representatives and call moratorium on any further change plans until the harm on students and staff can be more fully assessed.
Yours in protest:
Colleen Hartland, Greens MP for the Western Metropolitan Region
Professor Maree Brennan, honorary adjunct at VU
Les Thomas, Monash NTEU member
Jacob Andrewartha, VU student
Professor Tony Birch, VU Research Fellow, writer
Dr Jeff Sparrow, Honorary Fellow, VU
Dr Jacinda Woodhead, editor Overland, VU NTEU member
Dr Natalie Kon-Yu, VU academic, writer
Dr Maree Keating, former NTEU Vice President, VU branch
Associate Professor Enza Gandolfo, NTEU member, novelist
Alex Skutenko, Overland
Sian Vate, deputy editor, Overland
Stephanie Convery, journalist, union member and former Overland deputy editor
Dr Dorothy Bottrell, VU staff
Anna Branford, former VU staff
Alison Croggon, writer, critic, Overland contributor
Margarita Windisch, VU staff
Mikhaila Hargraves, VUWC and VU Pride member
Dr Kerrie Saville, NTEU Deakin Branch President
Dr Tom Clark, VU academic
Dr Karina Smith, VU academic
Professor Christian Haesemeyer, University of Melbourne; VP (Academic) University of Melbourne NTEU Branch
Maria Strofalis, former VU staff member and student
Nicole Hilder, former VU librarian
Melinda Brown, VU staff
Cameron McInnes, VU student and VU Pride
Dr Britta Schneider, VU staff
Tina Grimes, VU staff
Natalie Zirngast, VU postgrad student
Julie Butler, former VU student
Sandra DiGiantomasso, local resident, CD worker
Zoe Halabrec, VU student
Dr Iain McIntyre, Monash NTEU member
Mel Balkan, VU student
Rachel Dann , former VU student
Lourdes Garcia-Larque, former VU staff and student
Deb McDonald, former VU staff member
Phil Evans, VU graduate
Trish Hayes, ex-sessional VU teacher
Dr Liam Ward, School of Media & Communication, RMIT University
Conall Cash, former VU history teacher
Terry Mason
Rosie Barron, RHD student and NTEU member
Peter Jones, JUC
Tania Jorquera, former VU student
Lizzie O’Shea, writer, unionist, human rights lawyer
Phoebe Churches, Manager Advocacy & Legal University of Melbourne Student Union
Shelley Turner, former VU staff
James Vassilopoulos, NTEU member Melbourne University
Julian Coppens, NTEU Monash branch delegate
Chris Leslie
Anne McMillan, VU staff member
Maria Kakala, VU student
Dane Letcher, VU student
Melanie Lazarow Life member NTEU
Leeanne Gooch, former VU student
Carmelina Monea, President of the Community Development Association VU, current VU student
Anna Nicholson, VU student
Lise Aumau, current VU student
Isabella Mcleod VU student
Camille Fitzgerald, current VU student
Amy Saunders, current VU student
Venus Loriente current VU student
Samantha Bourke, current VU student
Trinh Dao Mackeno, current Vu student
Catherine O’Connor, current VU student
Danea Johnston VU student
Leanne Higham, Footscray resident and NTEU member Melb Uni
Marian Burford
Jane Kenvay
Alexandra Haschek, NTEU member
Brianna Stevenson former VU student
Sam Douglas, NTEU member
Kellie Sanders, Deakin University
Claire Akhbari, former VU student current Uni Melb student
Dr Gary Pearce, RMIT NTEU member
Dr Vannessa Hearman, Charles Darwin University lecturer, former VU student and staff member.
Kate Bellew, VU Student
Bernedette Bonanno Angotti
Pippa Petty
Julie Stephens
Lauren Koroneos, VU student
Sara Eagle, VU alumni
Zemfira Brugts VU student
Daniel Ooi, VU staff
Brindley Sellick current VU student
Karen Penman, current VU student
Rebecca Abernethy, current VU student
Janette Wilcox, Kangan TAFE AEU member, Ex NTEU member.
Nicole Toupin, Footscray resident and ASU member
Owen Richardson
Samantha Mannix, NTEU member, University of Melbourne student
Irene Paulsen
Alexis Vassiley, NTEU member, Curtin University
Kieran Bennett, La Trobe University, student
*Academics, students, writers, union members and readers can add their names via the comments section below.
**There is a Stop VU Union Busting protest this Thursday 2 November at the VU CBD campus at 300 Flinders Street. From 12pm. Guest speaker Sally McManus.
Image via @eneferri
