Federation University staff strike over pay and conditions after arts cuts announcement

The strike, which involved staff across the university's campuses in Ballarat, Berwick, Gippsland, Melbourne and the Wimmera, follows eight months of failed enterprise agreement negotiations. Staff told the ABC they were striking for a better pay offer, job security, fair workloads and a voice in future decisions.

Two weeks ago, Federation University management announced it would cut 87 per cent of its arts subjects and shut down the Bachelor of Criminal Justice at all campuses except Berwick. Mathew Abbott, a senior lecturer of humanities and president of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) Federation branch, said staff in arts and criminal justice were called into a snap meeting with 10 minutes' notice. "We were given just hours to make submissions regarding why our units and courses shouldn't be cut," he said. "Staff were scrambling."

Dr Abbott said the NTEU lodged a formal complaint, after which the announcement was backtracked and labelled a "miscommunication". "We don't know exactly what happened or why, or how, or what was revealed at that meeting," he said. "But we do know, all too well, that the announcement comes after years of turmoil at Fed [University]."

In a statement, Federation University confirmed it was not cutting 87 per cent of arts subjects. A spokesperson said the university was reviewing courses and units with low student numbers. “Humanities, social work and visual arts matter to our students and our communities, and they remain important parts of Federation's teaching offering,” the spokesperson said. The statement said the federal government's decision to increase the cost of arts subjects put huge strain on the university. The spokesperson said the Commonwealth's Job-ready Graduates policy “has substantially increased student contributions for many humanities disciplines in an explicit attempt to influence students towards other areas of study”. The spokesperson said independent analysis had demonstrated the disproportionate impact these changes have had on low socio-economic status, regional, women and Indigenous students. “These are precisely the students and communities regional universities like Federation exist to serve.”

Dr Abbott spent Monday on strike in Ballarat along with about 50 other members of staff. He said staff were being kept in the dark and lived in constant peril of losing their jobs. "We've had mass redundancies almost every year since the current [vice-chancellor] took office," he said. "We've had over 25 restructures, campuses closed and opened, programs cut, hundreds of jobs lost and huge increases in the amount spent on consultancies."

Rachael Fernald, who teaches social work and human services at Federation University, said she was concerned about the future of the university. "Our workplace conditions are really reflective of our students' learning conditions," she said. "Everyday I expect to get an email that things are going to be cut and let go because that's what's happened nonstop since I've started working at this university. We're constantly worried about losing our roles."

Staff told the ABC they would take three work stoppages next week, which would disrupt students receiving their grades.