Swinburne University has apologised to staff for not properly consulting them before announcing the decision to close its Lilydale campus and relocate its Prahran design faculty last year.
In a letter seen by TWR, dated October 11, 2013, and addressed to all Swinburne staff, Swinburne’s Vice President of Student and Corporate Services Stephen Beall admitted the school did not adhere to the Academic and General Staff Agreement before making the decision.
Swinburne announced the closure of the Lilydale campus on and the relocation of the Faculty of Design at Prahran to its Hawthorn campus on July 6.
The letter states: “When the University did so, it had not consulted employees or the NTEU as it was required to in accordance with the Swinburne University of Technology Academic and General Staff Agreement 2009.
“The University acknowledges that it contravened the Enterprise Agreement. It agrees that the right of consultation provided for in the agreement is a right which is important to staff. It apologises to staff for this contravention and commits to observe its obligations under the Enterprise Agreement.”
Swinburne University made the decision to consolidate its campuses after the state government announced TAFE funding cuts of $290 million in 2012.
The cuts resulted in about 240 redundancies across all of the school’s campuses.
The NTEU and Swinburne University have been in mediation facilitated by the Federal Court since March over allegations that the school breached the Enterprise Agreement.
The court’s final decision is expected to be handed down on October 30.
NTEU Industrial Officer Josh Cullinan declined to comment on the letter prior to the court’s final decision.
A Swinburne University spokesperson said the letter was sent as result of an agreement made between the NTEU and the school during the mediation process in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
“This apology is part of a mediated settlement being facilitated by the Federal Court. The full details of the remaining items or any penalties will be handed down tomorrow (October 30).”
