The university announced yesterday that 66 per cent of staff across the board voted ‘yes’ to the variation, with temporary key measures including a 10 per cent pay cut (first $30000 excluded), no increments paid until 2022 and pay uplift delayed to 2022 for promotions.
The vote was held because the university expects to lose more than $250million in the next two years as a result of COVID-19.
La Trobe vice-chancellor Professor John Dewar said he recognised this would have been a tough decision for staff to make.
‘‘I am grateful that the variation has been supported by the majority of the staff who voted, who have now collectively moved to protect the financial equivalent of around 225 jobs by taking a pay cut,’’ Prof Dewar said
The changes in accordance with the Australian University Job Protection Framework comes after staff across all campuses were asked to express their interest in voluntary redundancies earlier in May and the university cut a number of casual roles.
Prof Dewar said minimising the scale and impact of any additional involuntary redundancies would be his highest priority over the coming months.
‘‘We will now focus on the process of resetting the strategy for the university, given the changed international, national and local environments,’’ he said. ‘‘It is critical that we differentiate La Trobe in the sector by playing to our strengths.
‘‘As we redefine our strategy, we will continue to be guided by our primary mission — to deliver education that puts students first and research that has impact and makes a difference in the world.’’
The National Tertiary Education Union helped develop the variation, which is expected to save the university about $16million in 2020 and $32million in 2021.
The La Trobe campus in Shepparton employs 35 staff and has 417 students enrolled.
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