More Massey job cuts are expected
Massey University staff are bracing for more job cuts in 2018, despite a larger than expected surplus last year, a union representative says.
The university is pressing on with planned job cuts and there are fears more cuts are coming.
In November, 1000 staff were asked to volunteer for redundancy or retirement packages, resulting in 69 confirmed departures – 45 from the Manawatu¯ campus, 13 from Wellington and 11 from Auckland.
The move was the beginning of a cost-cutting exercise to save $15.7 million over two years to increase the university’s surplus, which would allow investment in strategic projects, spokesman James Gardiner has said. For the 2017 financial year, this meant achieving a 1.8 per cent surplus, with a 3 per cent surplus needed in 2018.
However, December’s financial projections showed the university tracked better than that, getting a surplus of about 2.9 per cent, Massey Tertiary Education Union organiser Michael Gilchrist said, through non-replacement of staff and a windfall from research income and international student fees.
Despite that, ‘‘there’s no indication of a slowdown in their [restructuring] plans’’, and the union expects more job losses.
Gilchrist said a second call for voluntary departures was made late last year within a small academic support department, and at least four staff put their hands up. A formal staffing review was also scheduled for this department, and more job losses were expected early this year.
In mid-december, Gardiner also confirmed plans to close computer science and information technology classes at the Manawatu¯ campus.
Massey University staff did not answer questions about whether job cuts would continue, or what options the university had for cutting costs to meet the budgeted surplus increase.
But spokeswoman Louise Vallant said budgets for this year had already been set with the 3 per cent surplus in place, and the final surplus from 2017 would not be available until April.
There was ‘‘pervasive concern’’ on campus about the way costcutting was being carried out, Gilchrist said.
Cutting jobs then doing department reviews was ‘‘putting the cart before the horse’’, and consultation with staff, students and the union had not been done before taking action.
The union wanted ‘‘genuine reviews’’ to precede any job cuts, Gilchrist said.
‘‘The vice-chancellor wanted a [bigger] surplus so she can reshape the university so she can have strategic initiatives, rather than
There was ‘‘pervasive concern’’ on campus about the way cost-cutting was being carried out, union organiser Michael Gilchrist said.
business as usual and bump along and break even.
‘‘We want them to reshape things strategically on the way through, with really careful consultation, thinking about your plans for the future and making sure you don’t lose the assets that could help you in the future.’’
Vallant said careful budget management was not the only factor.
Others included student demand and staff-to-student ratios.