Issue 266 | Tuesday 28 February 2012 | Fortnightly | Free
UEA’s Independent Student Newspaper
Visit www.concrete-online.co.uk for in-depth coverage of the Union Elections Nominations are announced on Friday (2 March), and campaigning begins on Monday (5 March)
Union cuts student staff pay Michael Drummond News reporter The Union of UEA Students (UUEAS) has decided to cut student pay from September. This will affect students who work in the UFO, the Union Bar, and other UUEASrun institutions on campus. As the cuts will not be implemented until the start of the next academic year, current staff will not be affected, but those who applied for the
recently advertised 60 jobs within the Union will face a lower wage than previously. The current wage of £6.99 per hour will be reduced to £6.50, a loss of £0.49 an hour or £7.35 a week (based on a 15 hour rota). The pay is still very competitive for the type of work and the new rate of pay remains well above the national minimum wage of £4.98 an hour for 18-21 year olds. However, the reduction will undoubtedly be a loss to many who hope to work for the Union. Furthermore, Concrete
has learned that while students are having their pay cut, other staff members are being given a pay rise to deal with inflation. Senior Management have declined to accept this wage increase. A third year student, who has worked for the Union for the past two years, told Concrete: “I understand the pay cuts are needed given the deficit, but the idea is that the Union provides good employment opportunities for students, and it seems unfair that despite rising living costs, Laura Smith
Could you edit Concrete? Could you manage a team of sub-editors? Could you work 35 hours every other week alongside your degree? Do you want to gain vital employability skills? Issue 264 | Tuesday 31st January 2012 | Fortnightly | Free
UEA’s Student Newspaper
unIon In CrISIS Joshua Resoun News Reporter
The Union of UEA Students (UUEAS) is facing a deficit of a quarter of a million pounds for this financial year. Last year UUEAS experienced a deficit of £198,449, indicating a growing trend. Students’ Union Services (SUS), which operates under the parent body of UUEAS and provides student services on campus, endured a £74,496 loss last year. Publicly available documents reveal ever increasing losses for both SUS and UUEAS. For the year ending 31 July 2011, the Union suffered a 7% fall in bar sales, which led to the overall contribution from the Union Bars falling from £563,267 in 09/10 to £459,483 in 10/11. The recent decline in LCR club night ticket sales has attributed to the overall drop in bar revenue, as fewer students are attending the Tuesday and Saturday club nights compared to the 09/10 period. Both of these have struggled to sell-out in recent months. The revenue generated from club nights fell to £32,881 for the 10/11 period, a drop of £50,000 compared to the previous year. The Union has implemented a number of strategies in an attempt to reverse the drastic fall in bar and ticket sales. One change has been the extension of the LCR’s Saturday club nights until 3am.
Laura Smith
• Union set to face a £250,000 deficit this year • Falling bar and LCR revenue could impact upon clubs and societies funding • Without an increase in revenue, or cut in spending, the Union’s deficit appears could rise even further
Continued on page two
Back with a bang - The ConCreTe Sex Survey Visit our Facebook page to find out how to take part in the survey Results will be revealed in our Valentine’s Day issue
If you are interested in becoming Concrete’s editor-inchief for next year, you must do the following: Send in a 1,000 word proposal, your CV, a page laid up on InDesign software (the Concrete office will be available for this purpose), and an application form, which can be picked up from the Concrete office. Applications open from 9am on Wednesday 29 February and close at midnight on Tuesday 14 March.
the Union has decided to cut the pay for student staff. While student staff get pay cuts, full-time staff in the Union seem to be getting a pay rise, which is hardly fair as most students scrape by through their overdraft as it is”. Rob Bloomer, the Union’s Finance officer, commented on the cuts, saying that savings have to be made elsewhere as part of a broader “cost reduction programme”, and that students are not being targeted. He assured Concrete that the Union “absolutely believe[s] in a liveable wage”. Furthermore, Bloomer was keen to state that the holiday pay rate of 15% offered by the Union is also much better than similar establishments, and that the overall rate of pay was higher than that of other student unions UUEAS consulted. He was also eager to add that the Union, unlike other employers, guarantees 15 hours work a week, on campus, with flexible hours to fit students’ degree schedules and busy lifestyles.
The Concrete Drugs Survey Concrete’s drugs survey is back, and we want your responses. To take part, visit www.concrete-online. co.uk from Wednesday (29 February), and keep an eye on our social media pages.