Jobs to go at Canterbury University

350 jobs are to go at Canterbury University over the next three years. Photo / NZ Herald

A financial crisis brought on by the Christchurch earthquake is behind a Canterbury University plan to shed hundreds of jobs, leaked documents show.

The Tertiary Education Union (TEU) this afternoon claimed the university was planning to cut staff from 1947 to 1596 - a decrease of 351.

But the university said no decisions have been made and job cuts could be anywhere between 100 and 500.

The leaked document said the university had experienced significant reductions in student numbers and increased costs after the February 22 earthquake.

Despite that, the Tertiary Education Commission and Government had not increased funding, it claimed.

It said the university would be hit with a budget shortfall of $12-18 million. "In crude terms, a shortfall of $12-18 million is the equivalent of 300 staff positions."

A passage in the document accuses Government of pushing for the cuts as an "implicit" condition of further investment in the university.

"The implicit message from the Tertiary Education Commission and the minister - that if the institution is willing to lead the way with cuts that could easily run to hundreds of jobs - the State may invest in the university once more - is reprehensible."

A spokeswoman for Tertiary Education minister Steven Joyce said he would respond later today.

University of Canterbury vice chancellor Rod Carr said Government had asked the university to make its case for further support but denied it was put under pressure to make job cuts.

He acknowledged the institution was struggling financially after losing 13 per cent of its students in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake.

"It doesn't mean there aren't going to be redundancies. But the union is certainly claiming that decisions have been made that have not been made."

He said no decisions had been made on how many job would be cut.

The TEU figures were taken from long term modeling and were not necessarily accurate, he said.

"It is not a decision that has been made and it's an outcome that is unlikely.

"Three hundred and fifty is a scenario. So is 100 and so is 500."

TEU national president Sandra Grey said job cuts were being forced on the university.

She called for the institution's funding to be frozen at 2010 levels.

"Mr Joyce cannot sit by and let one of New Zealand's most prestigious learning institutions bleed nearly a fifth of its staff.

"In terms of Canterbury as a region and New Zealand as a whole... this kind of cut to staff has major implications."