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Australia: Study finds 40,000 tertiary jobs lost during pandemic

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The National Tertiary Education Union launched a week of action as a study it commissioned revealed that a shocking 40,000 tertiary education staff across Australia – nearly one in five – have lost their jobs during the pandemic. And, says the study: “Job losses are getting worse, not better.” Higher education has been hit harder by COVID-19 than any other industry.

Most of the jobs lost in the 12 months to May 2021 – 35,000 – were at public universities. Others were lost at technical, further and vocational colleges. University job losses have been much higher this year than in the first year of the pandemic.

Under initial lockdowns, casual workers suffered the largest job losses. “They now mostly affect permanent and full-time positions,” says the report. “The pandemic is thus reinforcing the perverse trend of casualisation in universities.” More than 60% of the jobs lost were held by women.

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(university world news)