10 July 2012
July 16: Rally against the Swinburne cuts
Last Friday's shock announcement from Swinburne University management about its decision to retrench 120 ongoing teachers, 100 fixed-term teachers and 120 administrative staff was the latest devastating blow to the Victorian TAFE sector.
The 340-plus people who now face the loss of their jobs at Swinburne has swelled the number of TAFE staff across Victoria who have already been told that there is no work for them at their TAFE institute.
The AEU and the NTEU are hosting a major rally on Monday July 16 at the Lilydale campus against these devastating cuts and their effect on teachers, support staff, students and the local community. Download a flyer here.
The Baillieu Government continues to pretend it has nothing to do with these job cuts and that it is simply TAFE institutes' management choosing to change the direction of their education and training priorities.
It is obvious to all that these cuts are a direct consequence of the May budget cuts, which are a savage attack on the fabric and value of the public TAFE system in Victoria. Yet again this government has shown it has no regard for the damage it's doing to people's lives and the Victorian TAFE system.
We are also building up to the major public TAFE4All rally on August 16 at the State Library in Melbourne. Please encourage everyone you know to attend. We need to make this event as massive as we can!
In a way the State Govt is right that it is Swinburne's change in priority/direction for it's training programs that has resulted in the closure of the Lilydale campus - simple economics tells us that if you take an estimated $35million out of your operating budget you have to make changes. How stupid does the government think we are?
Harry, Melbourne, 10 JUL 2012 17:09
