By Alesha Capone
The National Tertiary Education Union has expressed fears about possible job cuts at the University of Melbourne U-Vet Werribee Animal Hospital.
The NTEU last week issued a statement which said it understands that the University of Melbourne is preparing to cut $10 million from its faculty of veterinary and agricultural sciences, which is home to U-Vet.
NTEU University of Melbourne acting branch vice president, Annette Herrera said the university’s management was prioritising “new buildings and capital works projects instead of holding onto the staff that keep places like U-Vet serving the community”.
“U-Vet staff are treated as expendable instead of being commended for their frontline essential work in animal emergency care,” she said.
A staff member at U-Vet, who asked to remain anonymous, said that for the U-Vet employees, the animals under their care remained the top priority.
“We want the public to know that the level of care hasn’t dropped even though we are overworked [and] understaffed,” the staff member said.
A community-run Change.org petition opposing job cuts at U-Vet has garnered more than 4000 signatures.
A University of Melbourne spokesperson said that “a change plan” would be implemented to manage the financial impact of COVID-19 on the tertiary institution, which is expecting to lose $900 million in revenue by the end of 2022.
“Phase one of this plan involves an examination of service delivery and organisational structure at U-Vet Werribee Animal Hospital, not only to address cost-saving measures, but to increase efficiency and service quality,” the spokesperson said.
“The final outcome of this review is yet to be announced.
“Just like many other universities and businesses, it is inevitable that there will be job losses, for both academic and professional staff, as a result of the financial impact of COVID-19.
“We are committed to engaging transparently with staff and are totally committed to prioritising the retention of jobs wherever possible.”
