By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
CHISHOLM Institute has not responded to claims of secret plans to put staff on vastly lower pay and conditions.
As reported by the Weekly online last week, a leaked state government cabinet report revealed plans to “align” teachers’ conditions with the lower-paying educational services (post-secondary) modern award.
Greg Barclay, the Australian Education Union deputy vice-president for TAFEs, said the move could see top-ranked teachers taking a pay cut from about $79,500 to about $50,950, and their annual teaching hours soaring from 800 to 1100.
Teachers may also have to work late hours without penalty rates under the award, he said.
The week before, Chisholm announced it would cut 220 jobs by the end of the year in response to $30 million funding cuts since last November.
Mr Barclay said Chisholm had then asked staff to volunteer for redundancies without telling them the full story.
“That’s the most appalling part of it. The institute is not coming forward with all of their plans and people can’t make an informed decision. Most people don’t want to go so they are not volunteering at this stage. People are working as hard as they can and they hope they get a job.”
Chisholm management and the union are still negotiating over the next enterprise bargaining agreement. The institute was contacted last Monday for comment, but has not responded.
Also in the report, Chisholm stated it would axe 251 full-time equivalent positions, including 179 redundancies in 2012 and 2013. The others included casual staff and redundancies early this year. The report pointed out the institute would seek $10.7 million from the state government as it faces an operating deficit of $2.5 million next year.
The report also reveals:
■ Plans to buy and refurbish a five-storey building in Dandenong for $13.5 million. The building will be used by Chisholm and its university partners, and depends wholly on state funding.
■ Chisholm’s Dandenong campus library could be converted into a “student learning hub” with more IT capacity and a student service centre.
Left with little choice
THE ripple effects from TAFE and vocational education funding cuts are going to hurt high school students’ prospects, says Noble Park Secondary College principal Pam Dyson.
The school’s own Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning funding had been slashed in this year’s state budget by $42,000 — the equivalent of a staff member’s wage.
At the same time, Chisholm Institute has been hit by $30 million funding cuts since November. Ms Dyson fears this will cut down options for her students.
Chisholm has announced the axing of 27 courses, and a state government cabinet paper revealed the institute’s plans to raise tuition fees by 70 per cent and forecast that enrolments will drop by 1500 students. “It means young people may not be able to go to the TAFE of their choice or be able to afford the course of their choice,” Ms Dyson said.
The funding cuts affect the school’s three on-campus VCAL courses in sports manageement, business studies and multimedia.
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