CDU needs to come clean with public over nursing restructure

Charles Darwin University (CDU) management needs to get its story straight about the number of positions affected by its planned restructure of the College of Nursing and Midwifery, and the number of staff that might lose their jobs, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) said today.

An NT News Online article on 21 August quoted CDU Vice President Sue Carthew as saying that the original change proposal had caused

“…quite a lot of angst across staff and the community. We listened to that feedback and modified the proposal. The staff losses are very minimal…I think it’s a total of two.”

However, NTEU representatives met with CDU management that same day, where it was confirmed that about 14 people in the College are still facing uncertainty over their future at the University.

In a subsequent letter to the NTEU, Ms Carthew confirmed that the Final Change Document 2019, which indicates that about 14 people are vulnerable, remains unchanged and the structure released in that document is the structure the University intends to implement.

“There is an ever-widening credibility gap here,” said NTEU NT Division President Darius Pfitzner. “CDU is a significant employer in the NT. The proposed restructure and potential job losses are serious enough to attract the attention of the NT government, so we would have thought that honesty and transparency would be uppermost in CDU management’s minds when advising the public about its decisions.”

“Either CDU management has misled the public, or the media outlet made a mistake. One way or the other we would like some clarity.”

/Public Release. View in full here.