College of Arts Update

Following the intiation of legal proceedings, mediation took place on September 14 between representatives of the university and the union concerning the proposed restructuring of the College of Arts.

From this, wrote branch president David Small, "a process was established whereby consultation will occur prior to a final decision being taken by the employer. It means that the voluntary severance process is suspended in the meantime".

Further mediation and meetings with College of Arts management led to the obtaining of information "on which the AUS can base any consultation", including

• EFTS history and predictions


• Academic staff comparisons by programme


• Predicted PBRF funding 2004 to 2009


• College budgets for 2005 and 2006, including the cost of College
  management


• Actions taken to date and timelines

This information has been circulated to members as a PDF.

A meeting was held on September 28 to brief members on the information and begin the pooling of ideas. Following this meeting, David Small wrote

The plan from here is for people send in suggestions to us, so that we can formulate a draft response that we will then circulate to members and meet to discuss.

Further information about the parameters of suggestions was provided by email. Suggestions should be sent as soon as possible to David, Marty or Matthew.

Meanwhile, a group of students is actively opposing the cuts, under the campaign title of Save our Staff, promoting a petition which is attracting many signatures. They can be contacted by email here.