GENERAL STAFF SECTOR GROUP

TEU Annual Conference 2010 – General staff vice presidents’ report

2010 has been another busy year for the general staff sector group which began in February by welcoming new members and farewelling previous members.

Job evaluation

In the first half of the year we undertook a major project on job evaluation.  This involved collecting information about universities and ITPs which had collective agreements for general staff about the current job evaluation processes in place.  Many of you will also have responded to our member survey about your experiences of job evaluation.  Using this data we have developed a TEU policy on job evaluation to be presented to conference this year.  If this policy is endorsed by conference we will continue to work next year on developing a standard job evaluation clause which can be included in bargaining claims.  We hope this would be the first of many standard claims to be developed to ensure fair remuneration and conditions for all general staff in our sector.

Communications

We are also continuing to refine our communication with general staff members and in late 2009 we launched the general staff page on the TEU site where you can find the latest on what the general staff sector group is working on and other items of interest for general staff.  The general staff sector group has also started a bi-annual email update following our sector group meetings.  An attempt to set up a communication network in the branches through nominated general staff contacts has been less successful, with some branches (with general staff membership) not putting forward any volunteers.  We are keen to get this network up and running as we want to have a good idea of the issues which are facing general staff in all the branches.  Thanks to Stephen Day and Jo Scott for their work on these communication tools.

Industrial

Collective agreement negotiations for general staff have also been initiated at a number of ITPs, with a new general staff agreement initiated at CPIT.  It’s something of a chicken and egg situation with it being clear that greater membership at some branches would aid these negotiations but needing collective agreements to improve recruitment!  Density of general staff membership in the ITP sector remains a significant issue for our union.

Campaigns and organising

On 9^th June, TEU celebrated the annual General Staff Day with events being held around the country.  At most university branches the employer showed their support for this event by granting an additional one hour for the lunch break to enable general staff to attend the celebrations.  The union makes this request each year, and we are very appreciative of the number of employers who agree to it.

Reviews and restructuring

Sadly, 2010 has seen a number of reviews in our institutions which have resulted in redundancy for many of our fellow TEU members.  At the University of Canterbury alone over 150 jobs were lost through a year long review of all general staff jobs in the service units. General staff in the colleges will be reviewed next year.  Shortly after the last of the redundancy notices were handed out at University of Canterbury the institution had a stark reminder of the value of general staff following the Christchurch earthquake in early September; library staff, trades and cleaning staff, IT staff, technicians, administrators etc were all instrumental in preparing the campus for the return of students.

Review of union structures

Next year, TEU will undertake a review of our union structures.  This will be a time to reflect on what is the best way to ensure that the general staff voice continues to be heard and our issues addressed, as part of the overall goals of the union.  We encourage all of you to take part in these discussions when they occur at your branches.

Thoughts on the review from the ITP vice president:

Nationally there is a strong sense that the TEU’s voice is heard at a political level and we would wish this to continue.  Employers take more notice as the density of membership grows.  This is particularly important in the ITP and wānanga sectors, as we are still perceived, unjustly, as an academic union.  It is time to concentrate on increasing general staff membership and this can only be done at grass roots level.

Now that we have been in operation for over two years it may be time to think of our common goals, rather than dwell on sub sector differences.  Is there a need to have more than one general staff vice president?  Could we not alternate every two years between sectors – this would have the benefit of expanding knowledge of each other’s sectors.  I would suggest that same could go for academic positions, although this is not in my brief.  I would be happy to hear other opinions from general staff members before or during conference.

In my view it is time to look seriously at the national structure of the governance of our union.  While all those on the council, sector groups and committees are excellent in their roles, the sheer number of meetings and participants makes for costly decision-making.  It could well be argued that this is the cost of democracy, but conference needs to balance the number of voices/roles with what the union can afford.

From Helen

I’d like to thank the staff at national office particularly Jo, Stephen, Sharn and Nanette, and my fellow vice presidents for their support and understanding during a difficult year following the early arrival of my son in February.  Thanks also to Annie Barker for filling in for me at council and university sector meetings in the first part of the year.  Last but not least, thanks to Tom for taking on the big job of leading our union through the merger – you deserve a rest now!

From Ken

I have been re-elected for a further two years to represent general staff, and would wish to make it clear that this is my last term.  I hope that on the incoming council or at branch level a fresh, enthusiastic candidate emerges to protect and enhance the ITP general staff voice on council.

I would like to thank the paid staff of our union for their efforts in negotiations and disputes and the great support they give our membership.

Helen Kissell

General staff vice president (universities)

Ken Laraman

General staff vice president (ITPs)