Victoria University has defended senior management racking up tens of thousands of dollars in travel expenses while at the same time cutting jobs and courses.
Staff raised the alarm over “exorbitant” travel and accommodation expenses for interstate and overseas trips since the start of 2014, which coincided with the slashing of about 300 jobs.
A bulletin by the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) detailed examples of spending, such as $400 on chauffeur-driven limousines and $14,000 on accommodation and travel on a three-week trip to the United States.
NTEU VU branch president Paul Adams said the “blatant hypocrisy” of the spending between January 2014 and August 2015 – unearthed via a freedom of information request – had raised eyebrows across the campus.
“We have been told the university is in a dire financial situation and all these cuts are needed, so to have senior management spending up big on hotels, travel and chauffeur-driven cars is extraordinary,” Mr Adams said.
“I have received a number of emails from staff, who are angry and upset about it.”
VU announced in April 2014 that it was cutting about 300 jobs in a bid to save up to $50 million by 2016.
Mr Adams said there may be legitimate reasons for travel, but spending on luxury accommodation and business-class airfares while cutting jobs, services and classes could not be justified.
Strict guidelines
A VU spokeswoman said an internal travel policy provided strict guidelines for university staff to rationalise their need to travel and explain its adding of value to the university.
“All bookings are made at the best possible price point through a central processing unit, to suit the needs of every individual travel request,” she said.
The spokeswoman said that as the university was a national and international business with more than $400 million in revenue, travel was necessary for “networking, education, and sectoral participation”.
“The costs which come with such travel are the costs of successfully doing business in our industry.”
