Ballot Result and Union Management Meeting Notes
Colleagues,
Ballot results
YES: 273 (90%) NO: 30 (10%)
(On a 60% return of those eligible to vote.)
UNION/MANAGEMENT MEETING 13.3.14
At Thursday's union/management meeting, the main items discussed were as follows:
1. Recognition and Procedures Agreement
The EIS has requested adequate time for branch officials and campus representatives to engage in partnership working, negotiating on new policies including an RPA, engaging members in the process and so on.
Management's response, while a slight improvement on previous proposals still falls short of the time given to the Staff Association, is less than that provided for Unison (in proportion to our respective memberships) and takes no account of the national roles four of the officials union reps fulfil.
The Branch EIS Health and Safety Representatives and Branch Secretary continue to receive no class contact remission.
The EIS will be taking a grievance to the Board over this issue.
2. Observation
Management has agreed to suspend 'critical friend' observation as the EIS requested. There will be further discussions the 'Teaching in Colleges Today' and PDA programmes, and we will report the results as soon as they are known.
3. Mobility and PALs,/SLs roles
The EIS asked management to agree to the following statement:
"In view of the Principal's recent letter stating 'We always abide by statutory provisions such as Health and Safety or TUPE'
1) management will honour the clause in lecturers' contracts which specifies a particular work base, and will not pressure lecturers into breaching this aspect of their contract
2) management will honour the clause in lecturers' contracts which specifies their duties, and will not pressure lecturers into breaching this aspect of their contract to cover roles of former PALs and SLs.
This statement will be communicated to PMs as soon as possible."
Management agreed to respond to this request soon.
(In addition to this there is now a collective grievance going forward on the failure of college management to acknowledge the inclusion of specified work bases in legacy college contracts. Several lecturers have added their names to this grievance. If you would like to do so also, please write topennygower1@gmail.com)
4. Review of roles
Further to the above, the EIS asked for a review of the restructure since merger, and requested that it could be involved. This was accepted.
5. Overtime
The EIS pointed out inconsistencies in overtime rates paid at the College and requested harmonisation on best practice be carried out. Management agreed to provide a response to these points.
6. Zero hours contracts
The EIS restated its opposition to these forms of contracts, including the fact that lecturers on such contracts do not accrue state pension. Officials requested that the lecturers remaining on zero and variable hours’ contracts be transferred to standard employment contracts. Management agreed to respond to this.
7. Registers
The EIS referred to requests that lecturers backfill registers from earlier in the year that were not available to them at the time. We provided emails showing that the EIS had warned of the impending difficulties, three days before the students began on 26 August; that the suggestion that filling in such registers takes just 30 minutes was wholly unrealistic; that filling in such registers has no impact now and the focus should be on ensuring current registers are fit for purpose; and that the current situation of catching up on missed classes, the impending Education Scotland visit and the proximity of exams and assessments means backfilling of registers is currently inappropriate.
Management agreed to respond to this.
8. Other items discussed included permanisation, a request for
renewal of the no redundancy deal, and printing facilities.
EIS notes of union/management meetings will again be available in the specific section of the blog soon
EIS CAMPUS MEETINGS
It is planned to hold campus meetings in the week beginning 31 March. Information to follow.
Kind regards
Penny
(Penny Gower, EIS Branch Secretary)
Dear Union.
ReplyDeletePlease can you give us some concrete examples of what would be a PM's job that is being pushed down to lecturers as the line is becoming blurred. This is particularly happening in areas where the PMs are just not up to the job, have no experience or the job itself can not be done except if the lecturers voluntarily take on extra duties. The PMs took on these jobs -they should have the decency to say if they can't manage.
Also could you also give more information on discretionary time-a couple of examples of this would work would be good.
Keep up the good work. Imagine what a hell -hole the college would be by now without the union.
It is difficult to work from what is clear to all, an intolerable workload the PMs have. Meetings between the EIS branch officials and PMs will be taking place to discuss this, their re-inclusion into the RPA and other matters.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it is more straightforward regarding a lecturer's duties. As the Principal says, 'Did you do it last year?' If something was not your responsibility to do a particular task pre-merger, it isn't now. While it is difficult to step back from tasks that are necessary, and were carried out by SLs and PALs, there will be no adequate restructuring/solution to our workload problems if we don't refuse to step into the breach.
Only lecturers can police this; the union will step in and defend anyone who refuses to carry out additional tasks. However, if you fill in now, you will be told by management that you did it last year, so you do it this year and the next..' In doing this, you will have unwittingly have amended your own contractual custom and practice.
Talking of contractual rights, discretionary time continues as a current contractual right for all Sighthill lecturers (whether they have been issued with a 'new' Telford contract as a fixed term lecturer or not). By 1 April, it will be a contractual right for all lecturers at Edinburgh College.
Your request for information/worked examples is noted and shall be sent to all before 1 April. If you are a Sighthill lecturer and union member, please contact Penny on pennygower1@gmail.com immediately if your line manager is attempting to breach your contract and refuse your right to discretionary time at a time and place of your choosing.
Hannibal
Firstly I have very little sympathy for the PMs. On the whole they seem spineless / incompetent. Those from inside college showed poor judgement taking the job-that is why people just didn't apply -it wa obvious to most what would be involved. So we have PMs who took the job because they were scared they wouldn't have a job-the qualities we want in a manager of people. then you have the ones who have no skills or experience in the area who got the jobs because no one else was stupid enough to take them. They signed a no strike agreement and are taking their 40 pieces of silver. They don't seem to be able to organise themselves into a group to fight back .
ReplyDeleteRe PMs duties -what about if a PAL is now a Lecturer -the if you didn't do it last year -that doesn't work.
As for discretionary time -there must be some guidelines. Particularly need for those who have never had it.
Of course PMs are struggling if the lecturers they work with are actively working against them and undermining at every turn.
DeleteAah, they'll be taking the lead from the top then. A feature of working in Perth - undermine your colleagues, peers and anyone else, for your own advantage. Keep in with the boss though - whatever that takes!! Wink wink.
DeleteHello Penny, I notice the role of instructors was not discussed. Is this still on the agenda?
ReplyDeleteHi 21:36.
DeleteWe are in the throes nationally of amending the EIS and the EIS-FELA constitutions so that those who lecture, whatever their designation and present salary, can be welcomed into the EIS as members. The present situation for those who are lecturing/delivering courses unaided but not being paid the academic rate they deserve (whether pro-rata or full time) is very unsatisfactory.
We urge those who are carrying out support staff duties to join or remain in Unison. However, we hope shortly to be able to offer full EIS membership to instructors and other grades who are in reality lecturing. In the meantime, EIS Branch officials at Edinburgh College have requested that we take part in a review of instructor grades, and as with many other issues, await a response from college management.
Cheers
Penny