VIC: Textiles college chiefs win reprieve in RMIT battle

AAP General News (Australia)
04-05-1999
VIC: Textiles college chiefs win reprieve in RMIT battle

By Ilsa Colson

MELBOURNE, April 5 AAP - A group of Melbourne training college managers who were removed
from the payroll when their employer merged with RMIT University have won a reprieve in a
battle to get their jobs back.

But RMIT said today it planned to appeal against the Australian Industrial Relations
Commission ruling that it reinstate the five managers from the former Melbourne Institute of
Textiles (MIT).

The managers said today they would turn up for work this week after the commission ruled on
Thursday that RMIT had locked them out of their jobs despite having no authority to sack them.

"At the moment, I'm looking forward to the prospect of returning to work on Wednesday,"
director of the former institute, Chris Cookson, told AAP.

"From my point of view and my family's point of view, it will be great to get our lives
back together."

However, Ms Cookson said her pleasure had been undermined by indications from RMIT last
week that it intended to appeal against the decision.

The row erupted after RMIT stopped paying the five Institute of Textiles managers when the
merger took place on January 1 this year.

The institute, located in Brunswick in Melbourne's inner north and now called RMIT
Textiles, offers TAFE training in the textile, clothing and footwear industries.

"None of the senior managers were officially terminated - they were simply taken off the
payroll," Ms Cookson said.

This was despite the five receiving letters late last year welcoming them to RMIT, and the
fact that the positions of 170 other institute staff were retained after the merger.

Most of the textiles managers, who earned between $65,000 and $100,000 a year plus bonuses,
had also been negotiating with RMIT about their post-merger positions.

"No one understands why this has happened - they've given us no reasons at any time," Ms
Cookson said.

A RMIT spokesman said the university would act "in good faith" as long as the commission
decision stood, but an appeal was planned.

Meanwhile, positions for the five managers were no longer available at the former MIT -
though space may be found for them elsewhere in RMIT's operations, the spokesman said.

Ms Cookson said she understood two existing RMIT managers had taken over the new textiles
department.

The RMIT spokesman said the new arrangement had "overall ... worked very well".

AAP imc/er/cjh

KEYWORD: RMIT

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