USJ ‘bullying’ scandal leaves nine professors fired, three resigning

A group of nine professors were let go “without justifiable cause” by the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) and another three resigned due to “bullying” by superiors, lawmaker José Pereira Coutinho unveiled the unsettling news to the media on June 25.
Coutinho was told by the victims that there has been a long-term problem of abusing power at USJ, in which some managerial staff “cursed” at the lower-ranking colleagues in an “imperious manner” — and sometimes even “tossing apples to them.”
Before being dismissed, the nine professors convened a meeting with USJ’s rector Stephen Morgan to report on the school’s faulty internal management, in the hope of resolving the predicament.
However, all those who attended this meeting were fired by the university afterward, Coutinho said.
Coutinho ruled out the possibility that this was coincidental, asserting that “Firing these nine professors was completely the [USJ’s] management settling a score [with them].”
All of the professors who were dismissed by the USJ are Macau residents. After being informed by the school of their immediate termination, the professors and Coutinho met with USJ’s rector, trying to seek a peaceful resolution. The institution held fast to the firings, claiming it was a decision made as part of “institution’s restructuring.”
On June 25, Coutinho, in the company of seven dismissed USJ professors, held a closed-door meeting with authorities of the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL), urging the DSAL to conduct an in-depth investigation on this allegedly unprincipled event.
“From what we can see, the claimed “restructuring” is in fact filling the vacancies with foreign teachers. […] The main reason behind this is that the school wants to employ their close acquaintances [from abroad],” Coutinho told the press.
According to Macau’s labor law, the school should prioritize hiring local teachers. “They should only employ foreigners provided that no locals are found fit for the vacancies,” the lawmaker emphasized.
The DSAL was urged by Coutinho to probe into this case, ensuring that the number of hired foreigners in the USJ does not exceed the limit required by the law. The lawmaker also pressed the DSAL to reconfirm whether the dismissal compensations were distributed to dismissed scholars fully.
Coutinho is planning to turn to other government departments such as the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) to help the three professors who resigned on their own accord, as there is no law in Macau to safeguard the employment rights of those who have already resigned.
A married couple, who have worked for the USJ for five to seven years, was fired during this incident, while their son is still studying in Year 3 at the USJ, the lawmaker said.
“It’s especially difficult for these people [professors] to find other placements in May and June, during the exam period,” he told the press. He added that their unemployment has translated to zero income for their family since.
Coutinho appreciated the honesty of Morgan, who in an earlier exchange confessed to unfair conditions imposed by some of his colleagues in managerial positions. However, he hinted that the rector should also be held responsible for shielding the wrongdoings of the management.
“He [the rector] also confirmed that all the dismissed professors did nothing wrong — but they are no longer needed due to the school’s restructuring,” Coutinho added.
It is alleged that one of the bullies was an alcoholic who binged drinking on and off while at work, but that the individual no longer works at the USJ.
The dismissed professors engaged in a wide variety of academic arenas. All high-level managers are non-locals, according to Coutinho.
On the heels of Coutinho’s remarks, Morgan issued a statement Friday night refuting his allegations, which the rector said “misrepresent entirely what he was told by the USJ.”
“The proportion of local academic staff has risen from 70%, when I became rector in May 2020, to 76% now. Our admin staff remains 97% local residents,” he said, adding: “It is to be regretted that he [Coutinho] has today chosen knowingly to say exactly the opposite.”