Dear colleague,

Victoria University NTEU members are in the midst of a struggle to secure a new Enterprise Agreement with university management. 

Recently, VU management prepared a Mid-Year Report Card that certainly put a glossy sheen on VU under VC Shoemaker. The VU NTEU Branch has prepared an alternative Report Card (below) with a stronger dose of reality.

What's your report card for VC Shoemaker et al.? Write to us at vu@PROTECTED  

Doing austerity differently:

$67 million: The amount invested by VU in a research building at the New Footscray Hospital. 

$13.1million: The cost of the 57m footbridge connecting Footscray Park campus to the New Footscray Hospital. 

$6.2million: The amount spent on external consultancy fees since 2020.  

$6.6million: The estimated cost of converting 120 Teaching Focused Academics to Teaching and Research Academics, and hiring an additional 48 staff to meet teaching requirements. 

$0: The cost of NTEU’s bargaining claim for a professional staff workload reclassification process. 

Maximising “productivity” through exploitation:

8.7: The percentage decrease in Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff between 2022 and 2023 due to Towards One VU and the Voluntary Separation Program. 

4: The minimum number of blocks all academic staff will be required to teach under university management’s proposed academic workload model. 

707: The number of days since our Enterprise Agreement nominally expired, leaving staff without regular or scheduled pay rises. 

When more is less: 

40:1: The student to staff ratio at VU. (The Australia average is 23:1).

45: The size of some classes this semester. 

Crying poor or crying wolf:

Whatever the figures, if VU management can afford to invest millions in things like footbridges over Ballarat Rd, why cant they afford to invest in basic dignified working and learning conditions for staff and students? 

What matters more, VC Shoemaker, buildings and consultants, or VU staff and students?

To learn more about the NTEU VU Branch’s vision for a better VU, visit www.nteu.au/bargaining/VU. 

In solidarity, 

Brandy Cochrane 

NTEU VU Branch President

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