The Community and Public Sector Union NSW wants certainty about the long term employment of its members, which it says kept TAFE NSW running during COVID-19.
The CPSU NSW - which represents all support, administrative and related employees - said Hunter staff would be impacted by TAFE NSW restructure plans in three areas.
Industrial officer Matthew Drake-Brockman said about 45 roles would be impacted in the Business Development International unit, including two in Newcastle.
He said about 40 would be impacted in the People and Safety Services Recruitment unit, including four in Newcastle.
The union said TAFE NSW's change management plan for its Information and Communication Technology unit showed "several hundred" would be impacted. The union said 61 ICT jobs were impacted last year, including three in Newcastle.
He said TAFE NSW was going through a 'placement process', where if possible, it matched employees to new roles. He said it would find suitable alternative work for employees who were not matched, but had provided no end date or future planning.
"We want to be at the negotiating table for when that period expires," he said.
"We need to be part of the conversation.
"It's unacceptable for TAFE to be able to centrally make decisions about when they will put people in to the unemployment queue.
"We believe no timeframe should be put on it, because these are uncertain times.
"We want to prolong it as long as possible."
CPSU NSW TAFE organiser Shane Jobberns said the restructures were justified as removing duplication.
"But when people leave there's duplication of workload because those left have to do more," he said.
"If they have five people in a section they will cut to four and review it in 12 months and then say 'Now we can cut it to three because the work is still being done'.
"They're going through and working people to the bone.
"Staff are just working harder and harder."
CPSU north region delegate Steve O'Brien said members believed the restructures went too far.
"We know the work cannot be done and we have the interests of the business at heart," he said.
"We're saying down the track you'll need to re-engage people who have been paid off or dismissed and there's a cost to re-engaging and re-training them.
"We want to help rebuild regional communities."
Mr Jobberns said impacted staff had kept campuses open during COVID-19 shutdowns.
"Colleges continued to work and stay open on the back of our members and TAFE employees," he said.
"They undertook risk assessments, put safety processes in places, marked out classrooms for social distancing and delivered online resources.
"The education support staff made the point of keeping the place open working towards bringing students back.
"Staff supported TAFE through hard times, we're now calling on TAFE to support those staff."
The CPSU NSW also wants more information around how TAFE NSW will managing its offering of free courses.
"We support this idea, but how many staff do you intend to bring in to manage that?" Mr Drake-Brockman said.
"You can't just push it down to existing staff when more services are required.
"TAFE NSW is an essential service and has been run down by subsequent governments over the years. The CPSU NSW want the government to recognise that it needs to properly fund TAFE."
A spokesman for TAFE NSW said it was supporting the state's recovery plan.
"In that light, TAFE NSW is leveraging existing teams across the state and redeploying staff with the skills and capacity to support our students," he said.
"Where organisational change is well advanced...TAFE NSW is continuing with organisational change while also ensuring continuity of employment for its employees.
"This means employees who want to continue working at TAFE NSW are able to do so as we work through the unprecedented challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
"TAFE NSW will continue to act in accordance with NSW Government policy."
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