Letter from RSSS Executive to CASS Dean rejecting all forced redundancies in the College
Letter to the CASS Dean signed by all members of the RSSS Executive calling for an immediate halt to any involuntary redundancies in the College. Distributed to all RSSS staff on Thursday 21 August.
To: Bronwyn Parry <Bronwyn.Parry@anu.edu.au>, CASS - Dean <dean.cass@anu.edu.au>, Matthew Talbot <matthew.talbot@anu.edu.au>
Subject: Letter from RSSS executive regarding involuntary redundancies in CASS
Date: Thursday, 21 August 2025 at 9:45 am
Dear Bron,
We, the RSSS Executive, write to register our deep concern and opposition to the disproportionate cuts being imposed within CASS, in particular the use of involuntary redundancies of continuing academic and professional staff when these measures have been abandoned elsewhere. We seek your leadership and support in calling for an immediate halt to any involuntary redundancies in the College.
The recent messaging from the University has already caused serious harm to staff morale, particularly among those already in vulnerable positions. The lack of clarity has created uncertainty and anxiety at a time when trust is already fragile.
At the same time, subsequent reporting indicates that the Vice-Chancellor has decided to halt involuntary redundancies across the University, while allowing deep cuts to proceed in CASS. This is fundamentally unjust and places our College in an untenable position. It has never been clear why CASS was singled out to bear such a heavy share of reductions, nor why a college-by-college approach—rather than a university-wide strategy—was pursued when this risks weakening areas of strength.
If the University’s budgetary targets can be met without compulsory redundancies elsewhere, then continuing to impose them in CASS is indefensible. The Change Proposal remains under consultation, no response to detailed staff feedback has been provided, and no implementation plan has been released. Yet it appears that maximal savings from CASS are being used to negate the need for savings elsewhere.
Other measures—voluntary separations, retirements, and natural attrition—remain available within CASS. To persist with involuntary redundancies predominantly in CASS is inequitable, arbitrary, and damaging. These actions are already inflicting reputational harm on the University and corroding the morale of staff in some of its highest-performing areas.
We therefore call on you, in the strongest terms, to advocate for an immediate halt to the process of involuntary redundancies of continuing academic and professional staff in CASS. The Vice-Chancellor’s decision gives you, as Dean, both the mandate and the opportunity to defend the academic heart of the University.
Sincerely,
Prof Christian Barry
Prof Nicholas Biddle
Prof Vladimir Canudas-Romo
Prof Matthew Gray
Prof Karima Laachir
Prof Maria Nugent
Prof Meredith Rossner
A/Prof Elfie Shiosaki
A/Prof Gavin Smith
Prof Nicholas Southwood