A professor claimed he was “unlawfully dismissed” by the university over a social media post.

Professor Andrew Timming, who was sacked by RMIT University last week, said he would take the university to the Fair Work Commission, claiming he was bullied and unlawfully dismissed by the institution.

Prof Timming said his sacking came after a social media post he made in December 2022 weighing in on an exchange between controversial influencer Andrew Tate and climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Tate posted a tweet taunting Thunberg with a picture of himself in front of his Bugatti vehicle, boasting about his 33 cars and asking for her email address so he could send “a complete list of … their respective enormous emissions.”

Thunberg responded: “Yes, please do enlighten me. email me at smalld--kenergy@getalife.com”.

Prof Timming questioned why Thunberg had received praise for the remark.

“Demeaning sexual jokes when directed from a woman to a man – smiley face, wink face. Demeaning sexual jokes when directed from a man to a woman – bomb emoji, skull and crossbones emoji,” Prof Timming tweeted.

Prof Timming alleges he was reprimand over the tweet, then suffered “vicious bullying” at the university, leading him to lodge a grievance complaint in May.

A month later, RMIT allegedly placed him on extended leave and tried to terminate his contract on the grounds of ill health.

Prof Timming said his doctor and an independent medical expert appointed by the university said he was fit to return to work and he did so immediately.

He claims he was later stood down for not undertaking extra teaching, which he claims he never agreed to do.

Prof Timming told the Herald Sun he hoped the university would ensure “procedural fairness” during the Fair Work Commission appeal process so he could “put all this nonsense behind (him)”.

The former Human Resource Management professor said he was terminated from his job three days before Christmas.

“I was called into a meeting and I was informed I would be dismissed that same day,” he said.

“I was given the opportunity to comment … but after 15 minutes of deliberation they said I was dismissed immediately.”

Prof Timming said while the decision was a difficult one to hear, he had spent the previous six months preparing for it.

“It has been extremely stressful, but I knew it was coming,” he said, noting previous issues he had with the university.

“Ultimately my message to the university is that the rule of law must prevail and procedural fairness must prevail and I have a right to appeal.”

RMIT declined to comment on Mr Timming’s case as it doesn’t respond to individual staff matters.

The petition on website ActionButton is calling on RMIT’s vice chancellor to uphold Prof Timming's appeal against his dismissal, restore academic freedom and respect workplace rights.

“Prof Timming’s tweet was a commentary on the double standard when it comes to men sexually harassing women versus women sexually harassing men,” the petition said.

“After being threatened with disciplinary action over the tweet and bullied, he lodged a grievance alleging the RMIT violated his rights to academic free speech.

“Following his complaint, he was subjected to intense bullying and adverse action aimed at constructive dismissal,” the petition states.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/victoria-education/rmit-professor-andrew-timming-to-lodge-action-with-fair-work-over-unfair-dismissal/news-story/58ad83a9e27e465ba346eb2d818f8d0a

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My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs

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