Thanks to everyone who attended the AGM at the end of February, it was great to see so many people attend, and a last-minute piece of information about our rules added the adrenaline rush that every good AGM needs! We heard some really important views, and received good challenges on how member information is recorded, which we are in the process of raising with the regional office. Draft minutes have been circulated to members via email.
You might have noticed that the Branch Officers essentially remain the same people, with a little shuffling about of roles – we’d love it if more people joined us, and we’re particularly looking for someone to take on the role of Health & Safety Officer. We also have vacancies for an Education Officer and Lifelong Learning Co-ordinator.
As a branch we know that we have many members who aren’t directly employed by the University – we are still here to support you, and you’re also included in any calls out for information, become a Branch Officer, etc.
As ever, please get in touch if you would like more information about Branch Officer roles, or if you need our support.
In solidarity
Desna Mackenzie
Chair
UNISON Lancaster University
www.lancaster.ac.uk/users/unison/
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Members’ themed discussion
Our next members’ discussion will be on the topic of ‘University plans for professional services space’, and will take place Weds 24 Mar, 13:00-14:00. A link to the meeting has been sent to members via email.
If you weren’t able to attend the VC’s All Staff meeting on 8 Mar 2021, you will have missed a conversation about the outcome of the ‘working from home survey’: a huge amount of staff expressed the desire to continue working from home in some way, shape or form, once the pandemic is over, and it looks like University management may be using this opportunity to remove dedicated professional services office space, replacing it with teaching or laboratory space. Members have flagged this issue up in previous meetings, and so we thought it would be good to have a full conversation about this.
‘Is workload a dirty word?’
You might have seen the recent article on the Staff Portal titled ‘Working from home survey results‘. Most of the text is lifted almost word for word from a report that Organisational Development produced and UNISON has been given access to. It’s interesting to see what’s not included (see the highlighted text below).
Staff Portal article: ‘The main reasons reported as causing a negative impact on wellbeing are factors associated with the pandemic and, as a result, working from home on a full-time basis, such as the lack of connection with colleagues, disruption resulting from home schooling, caring and personal circumstances, social isolation and difficulty in striking a balance between home and working life.’
Survey report: ‘The main reasons reported as causing a negative impact on wellbeing are factors associated with the pandemic and, as a result, working from home on a fulltime basis, i.e. lack of connection with colleagues, disruption resulting from home schooling / personal circumstances, social isolation, difficulty in striking a balance between home and working life etc. In addition, a large number reported workload as being a key factor. Many also commented on workload in the free text comments.’
It seems that members of senior management at the University are reluctant to acknowledge the impact of workloads on wellbeing despite UNISON bringing this up in multiple meetings and stressing that the University needs to take action to reduce workloads. We will continue to pressure the University to reduce workloads.
Labour Link
An email about a forthcoming event has been circulated to all Labour Link levy-paying members. If you’re unsure whether you are a Labour Link member or not, please contact us at unison@lancaster.ac.uk and we will check for you. We know that there have been issues with the UNISON bulk email system, so we’re also including the information in this newsletter:
Save the Date:
Tuesday 30th March 2021, 12pm – 1pm
An online meeting of Labour Link members featuring speech by Cllr Erica Lewis
Labour Link levy-paying members are invited to the first meeting of Labour Link members of the Lancaster University Branch of UNISON. The meeting will be held via MS Teams.
We are delighted to announce that our inaugural meeting will feature an address by Lancaster City Council Leader Cllr Erica Lewis regarding matters for the local elections on 6th May 2021.
In addition to City Council Leader, Erica is the current Labour County Councillor and candidate for Lancaster South East, the Division which encompasses both Lancaster Uni and Cumbria Uni (Lancaster) campuses. Erica is a UNISON member and was a PhD student at Lancaster and is currently a Lecturer at Cumbria.
The meeting will be held via MS Teams and there will be an opportunity to ask questions and virtually meet other Labour Link levy-paying members.
Please save the date and look out for further details via email and the Members’ Team.
Health & Safety update
As the government has announced a series of dates for further relaxing of Covid-19 restrictions we will begin to see more presence of students on campus, and this increase in activity is likely to have an impact on members. If you have any concerns about Health & Safety on campus, or whilst working from home, please get in touch.
UNISON, and the other trade unions, have asked for the following information from the University:
- Please can we have an update on number of students expected back on campus between now and 8 Mar 2021, and subsequent trigger dates laid out in the government ‘roadmap’ (29 Mar, 12 Apr, 17 May, 21 Jun)?
- What is the plan to manage increased numbers, and what is corresponding increase in work activity around those same trigger dates?
- What is the expected effect on different categories of staff: e.g. cleaning services, porters & security, face-to-face teaching staff, colleges and student support staff? Will an increase in staffing on campus be required to manage increased activity?
- Are staff going to be required to come back to individual offices, or will there be centralised areas to return to?
- What are plans for the reopening of hospitality across campus, both in terms of staffing and how this will be monitored in terms of H&S?
- What plans are there to manage social gatherings of students in residences, and the impact of these on staff?
- Has an analysis of the level of First Aid provision on campus with respect to increased activity taken place?
- What are plans for increased safe public transport for students and staff on and off site?
- What are plans for continued reporting of Covid case statistics - will the rolling average be reintroduced?
- Please update on conversations with PH bodies – in October the spike in infections on campus was somewhat anticipated by PH officials, and we would like to understand what expectations are for the coming months?
- This is a comment rather than a question – the trade unions see this coming change in activity as an opportunity for the University to reinforce health & safety communications to managers and operational areas, especially with respect to increased number of students / student activity, ventilation, social distancing, face coverings, etc.
We expect to cover these in forthcoming Health & Safety Communication and Consultation Sub Group meetings in the coming weeks.
Cleaners terms and conditions update
Following the announcement at the end of last year that the University has finally decided to harmonise annual leave across the different grades from Oct 2021, UNISON and Unite have agreed to continue conversations about proposed changes to terms and conditions for cleaners. This has been a long running process of negotiation, and newer members may not be aware of what has happened to date. UNISON are working with Unite to set up face-to-face conversations with cleaners about this when government restrictions allow. This isn’t likely to be before July 2021.
Professional Services Conference
UNISON, alongside Unite and UCU, will be running a ‘virtual stand’ as part of the Professional Services conference between 19-23 Apr 2021. Our stand will take place between 12:00-14:00 on Tues 20 Apr. Once we have further details we will circulate, but this is an opportunity to encourage colleagues who are curious about what unions do, and the benefits of being a member, to attend, and hopefully will be a way to increase our membership. There’s power in a union!
Survey on the financial impact of modified working arrangements
Thanks to all members who participated in this survey. We had a response rate of over 10%, and respondees were spread across grades 4-7.
The responses we received revealed how complex and varied member’s situations and experiences have been over the last year so we are still analysing it for common themes and consistent messages on which to base representations to management.
However, one clear theme of concern to us are members with disabilities who have spent large amounts on office equipment and furniture to enable working from home. If you have been in this situation and would like further support or to make us aware of your situation and expenditures, please get in touch, regardless of whether you completed the survey or not.