A LANDMARK agreement could help limit the number of job losses at La Trobe University, the National Tertiary Education Union says.
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La Trobe Vice-Chancellor John Dewar on Tuesday told staff there would be more voluntary redundancies and job cuts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professor Dewar said the institution was facing a shortfall of between $33 million and $63 million in 2020, and between $80 million and $115 million in 2021.
He said that was the financial equivalent of between 200 and 800 jobs in the next two years.
But NTEU national president Alison Barnes said the union and the university sector had agreed to the National Jobs Protection Framework.
The scheme would mean some staff members would take pay cuts for one year, and redundancies would only happen in cases where a university could explicitly prove there was no work.
Dr Barnes said it could help save about 12,000 jobs across the country.
"COVID-19 hit universities really early and really hard," she said. "The effects will be felt for many years to come.
"Currently, Australian universities are looking at a loss of $5 billion. That means about 30,000 of our workers are looking at losing their jobs. This is a desperate and dire time for our workers and the sector."
Dr Barnes said the federal government had failed to act to support universities during this difficult time.
"We have been fighting really hard for a funding increase to our sector," she said. "The federal government has been missing in action. They have effectively ignored the sector rather than throwing it a lifeline.
"It not only puts 30,000 jobs at risk, it also undermines the core functions of universities to teach our kids, re-skill our workers, and conduct research."
Federal Member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters said the Labor party was working with cross benchers in the Senate to disallow Treasurer Josh Frydenberg's move to exclude universities from the JobKeeper program.
"We hope that it will pass the Senate and the government will allow universities to access the scheme," she said. "That could help save many jobs at La Trobe.
"I will keep fighting against these cuts. I believe one of the key strengths and pillars in Bendigo is a strong university and higher education sector.
"Since I have been the federal member, there have been different waves of restructuring that have resulted in job losses at the Bendigo campus.
"I would be disappointed if we lost positions at Bendigo given that we have taken a hit previously."
La Trobe's Bendigo Student Association president William Griffin said the association would continue to work with the university.
"We are continuing to work in collaboration with La Trobe to ensure that the student experience and the needs of students are considered with any changes that may be made to staffing," Mr Griffin said.
"One of the many reasons students like the regional campuses is the personal connection and relationship that can be built with staff on campus.
"Any loss of La Trobe staff will of course affect students, however the ramifications of the recent ineligibility for JobKeeper within the university sector has clearly lead to these redundancies.
"We are doing all we can to ensure that student lives are continued to be supported and made better each and every day during these unprecedented times."
Federal Minister for Education Dan Tehan has been contacted for comment.
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