Volume 2, Number 4, May 2010
From the Branch President, Megan Clayton From summer into winter, members are experiencing the bitter continuity of a change process that is simultaneously rapid and drawn out. The most recent Learning Resources Change Proposal can be viewed at http://teucanterbury.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/learning-resources-changeproposal-document-26-april-2010-teu-copy.pdf.
UC Change Thermometer
Many members-at-large have expressed the opinion that the scale and reach of this proposal is a last straw. For TEU representatives and organisers, it represents the escalation of a process that has occurred within the law, but at the expense of members’ collegiality, the continuity of our institutional knowledge and, for many, continuing employment. What can you do? Members need not be hide-bound by the requirement that only directly affected staff can submit: consider preparing a response for submission via the TEU that outlines how your area of work will be affected by the proposed changes. This is an option that has been taken up with success by members in previous change proposals under Project STAR. Your collegial and professional networks should know of the scale and range of the changes proposed in the current round (as with rounds previous). The university does not function solely in silos; we are connected to one another by the work we do across management areas as well as within our own departments, schools and service units. With which colleagues, university-wide, do you share a vested interest in any aspect of the present structures? Your TEU representatives facilitating the submissions process on your behalf can advise on editorial and industrial strategy when it comes to submissions, and can also facilitate any meetings you may wish to have with the appropriate university representatives, either individually, in small groups or on a larger scale. The employer remains committed to the legal requirements around the change process and the TEU must also abide by these. While this can limit our range of response it can also facilitate engagement in a variety of forms. Your representatives are here to help develop any ideas you have. It’s not just time to participate, however, but time to protest. The words below from a recent media release reflect the members’ fundamental opposition to the rapid attrition of our labour force and the work that we do. Let’s use them in the coming weeks to focus our determination and our solidarity. Tū kotahi. The Tertiary Education Union has represented its members throughout the submissions process associated with the multiple change proposals under Project STAR. It has worked not only in defence of members' positions but also of members' own vision for the university. Its views are informed by the deep expertise and experience of its members, from new staff who have joined the university from other institutions to those who have served the Canterbury community for many decades. It is the view of the union that the labour force of a large public institution such as the University of Canterbury is an asset, not a liability, and that positive outcomes for the future are best achieved by treating it as such.
‘Project STAR – “Staff to Axe Roster”?’
‘My vision and specific strategies to fulfil my vision have been explained in detail in the STAR (Superior Teaching, Advanced Research) Projects 10 on my homepage’ – Professor Oh Yeon-Cheon, Seoul National University Presidential Candidate, initiator of another Project STAR. It’s everywhere!
Redundancies:
67
Redeployments: 0 Additional redundancies proposed: 87
Our thermometer runneth over!
‘This is rapidly leading to a general coarsening of life at our university.’