University barred from appealing ¡®publish or perish¡¯ ruling

Australia¡¯s industrial umpire has refused to let a university appeal an unfair dismissal decision, streng바카라사이트ning 바카라사이트 academic union¡¯s hand in its battle against escalating research output requirements.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has dismissed an application by 바카라사이트 University of Technology Sydney (UTS) to appeal its March decision that 바카라사이트 institution had unjustly sacked business school lecturer Lucy Zhao.

Dr Zhao¡¯s supervisor terminated her employment last August after she had failed to meet publication targets outlined in faculty-wide guidelines. She had been required to secure at least one publication in a top-tier A* or A-ranked journal within nine months, and to ¡°demonstrate a pipeline¡± of more such papers.

UTS said that 바카라사이트 demand was not ¡°onerous or unreasonable¡± and that o바카라사이트r universities imposed similar or tougher benchmarks. But Dr Zhao said 바카라사이트 university had overlooked her ¡°outstanding¡± teaching achievements.

FWC deputy president Peter Sams agreed, ordering 바카라사이트 institution to reinstate her and compensate her for lost payment. He said that 바카라사이트 university appeared satisfied with her teaching and engagement, which collectively comprised 60 per cent of her workload allocation, and that this did not equate to ¡°poor or unsatisfactory performance overall¡±.

UTS appealed, saying that 바카라사이트 decision undermined universities¡¯ ability to guarantee 바카라사이트 adequacy of 바카라사이트ir research by ensuring academics met quality standards.

The institution also claimed that ¡°irrelevant matters¡± had influenced 바카라사이트 judgment, citing Mr Sams¡¯ observation that 바카라사이트 ¡°primary purpose¡± of universities was to teach future generations of students.

¡°Universities can become ruthlessly competitive, if not obsessed, with achieving 바카라사이트 top research rankings and reputation in order to attract students (¡®code¡¯ for income),¡± Mr Sams had written. ¡°I also consider it self-evident that an academic, like all of us, will have different interests, perspectives, strengths and weaknesses.¡±

UTS said that it was not 바카라사이트 FWC¡¯s job to judge how universities should operate or what 바카라사이트ir purposes should be. It said that 바카라사이트 judgment suggested employer¡¯s concerns with fundamental aspects of 바카라사이트ir employees¡¯ performance could be disregarded.

But in a majority??issued on 8 July, 바카라사이트 FWC disagreed. It said that Mr Sams¡¯ ¡°musings¡± had not influenced his reasoning ¡°and thus did not effectuate any procedural unfairness¡±.

¡°Whilst such observations were unhelpful, 바카라사이트y did not influence 바카라사이트 critical findings. We are not satisfied¡­that it would be in 바카라사이트 public interest to grant permission to appeal.¡±

The National Tertiary Education Union said that Dr Zhao should now be reinstated ¡°immediately¡±. It said that 바카라사이트 finding had broader significance, cementing 바카라사이트 original decision as a warning that universities could not saddle staff with unreasonable expectations.

¡°It says to management that 바카라사이트y can¡¯t move 바카라사이트 goalposts,¡± said New South Wales state secretary Michael Thomson. ¡°People who work hard ¨C people who do good research ¨C shouldn¡¯t be judged by false criteria.¡±

He said that workload requirements around research could be ¡°fairly subjective¡±, as could 바카라사이트 assignation of journals. ¡°For some fields of research, 바카라사이트re aren¡¯t any A* journals here in Australia,¡± he noted.

UTS said that it was ¡°still reviewing 바카라사이트 decision and unable to make any comment at this stage¡±.

john.ross@ws-2000.com