A little over 18 months since after Charles Sturt University embarked on a cost-cutting program to reduce a huge budget deficit, staff are being handed a $1000 Christmas bonus.
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In an email to staff, vice-chancellor Professor Renée Leon said the one-off "appreciation" payment was a gesture to acknowledge the "exceptional circumstances of an exceptional year."
"You have found new ways to ensure our students could continue their educational journeys, important research projects could be undertaken, and the University's role as an anchor institution in regional Australia could be strengthened," vice-chancellor Leon wrote.
"Please know that your efforts towards these accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. Far from it.
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"I hope this payment helps you and your loved ones enjoy a peaceful, relaxing and rejuvenating holiday period."
About 4000 staff across the university's campuses will receive the payment, including continuing academic and professional/general staff employed on December 2 and still employed on December 23; fixed term academic and professional/general staff employed on December 2 and senior staff employed on December 2.
Casual academic and professional/general staff who have been paid for more than 500 hours between January 1 and November 25 who are still employed on December 2 are also eligible.
The payment will be made to staff members on December 23.
The staff bonus comes after a difficult few years for the university that included losses of $48 million in 2020 and a forecast operating deficit of $49.5 million.
A cost slashing program that saw 203 jobs lost and cuts to courses reduced that figure to $15.5 million.
In September, CSU also announced it would close its study centres in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, where a large proportion of its international students study, as part of a strategic decision to bring more international students to its regional campuses.
The university says it is now in a strong financial position and confident it will return to a balanced budget by the end of 2021 .
A recent University of Melbourne report shows CSU was one of only two Australian universities to improve their financial position with a larger surplus in 2020 than in 2019.
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