Welcome
As another year ends, we are back to having virtual meetings and communicating with members electronically or on paper. Not an ideal situation but the committee felt it was probably for the best at this time.
It has been another strange year for us all with, at times, some real light at the end of the tunnel only for the tunnel to be extended again.
As for Unite, it has been a year which has certainly tested the committee with a number of significant policy and procedural changes to manage as well as the day-to-day case work.
A significant piece of work was the harmonised terms and conditions implementation, which took place in October. Many of you will have benefited from the additional annual leave entitlement. After 15 years of persisting by Unite, we finally achieved a fair outcome for all staff regardless of grade. We do appreciate that not all will have seen an increase in holidays and that for some, the long service element seems to have been disregarded. However, the principle of fairness was extremely important
and removed this inequality – at last!
As a committee, we are now starting work on reviewing our Partnership agreement with the University. This is an extremely important document which sets out our recognition agreement and how we work with the University senior management and POE (used to be called HR).
We continue to represent members on a whole range of issues, some of which are Covid related and these can be impacted by national or local policy at short notice. It’s vital that members contact reps at the earliest opportunity should they feel they have an issue or a potential problem.
Next year will see a new director of HR and a new assistant director of Health and Safety take up their positions and the committee will hopefully build good working relationships with both of these crucial post holders.
Finally from me, my regular plea for more members. It’s vital that we increase our membership on campus. Please speak to your colleagues and encourage them to at least consider joining Unite or to find out more information – there’s plenty of information on joining Unite and membership benefits here on the website.
If you celebrate Christmas then I hope you have a Happy Christmas and New Year and if not, then have a happy holiday and if you are working through the Christmas break, thank you, it is very much appreciated.
Andy Baker, Branch Chair
Cleaners Corner
As we approach Christmas the work of your reps continues. And with your support, we do make a difference.
One of the success stories this year is the issue of coats for cleaners on student accommodation for those of you who wanted one. Unite worked very hard to get these coats and it goes to show your Union is working with you, to get what you need.
We have been asking for the start times of either 08.00 or 09.00 to be made permanent on your request. These times have been with us since we all returned after the first lockdown and it appears that cleaners would like to keep them for the flexibility. We are working on this on your behalf, and we need your help once again in making this a success story.
Lisa and I continue to have monthly meetings with Alan and Karen. This gives us an opportunity to discuss items or ideas that you have brought to our attention. If you have anything you would like your reps to ask at the meeting please e-mail, text or give me a call.
Merry Christmas, Phillip Demmen
Elf and Safety
We have had yet another very busy year on the health and safety front. We have continually been working with the University to make the workplace as safe as possible during this challenging time. The hard work would not be possible without everyone’s hard work and commitment, and it demonstrates how much Unite members work together keeping the workplace safe.
We have conducted workplace inspections, investigated accidents and near miss reports and more recently served a notice of unsafe working area on the employer. We also have recently been active in the recruitment for the position of the Assistant Director of People & OE (Health & Safety) and we look forward to working closely with them in the new year.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, Ian
