Friday Update

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It looks like the powers that be are gearing up for changes if the Government eases lockdown on the 21st.

What do you think? are you a hotdesking evangelist, footloose, and fancy-free, wherever you lay your hat that’s your home? Or are you a nester, who works better when surrounded by familiar things and people? Do you relish the challenge of the race to the desk by the window, Crushing your enemies, pushing aside the weak in your victory?

Is it all starting to feel uncomfortably like school again…

I just know id get stuck on the desk by the loo’s leaving passive-aggressive post-it notes about the cleanliness of the previous office user…

“ apparently it’s ok to leave scotch egg crumbs behind if only I would have known I could have brought some with me…”

Nom Nom Nom…

Part one of the Gensec elec (see what I did there!) is over the nominations are in:

The numbers of valid nominations received by each candidate are as follows:

Howard Beckett 328

Gerard Coyne 196

Sharon Graham 349

Steve Turner 525

The final total may vary slightly from these figures as outstanding issues regarding the validity of some nominations are resolved.

You can see the same words on our website;

https://uniteuoc.org.uk/general-secretary-elections-21-nomination-results/

And to be fair on the main UNITE site as I have just done a cut and paste job…

How you interpret the figures is obviously a dark art as these are branch nominations, so this doesn’t take into account the size of various branches, or indeed the fact that only the people who bothered to go to the meetings had a say.

If your favored candidate is not looking too good here take comfort in the fact that there is bound to be an “expert” who will declare then a sure-fire winner on this basis.

It’s The ballot next so watch out for that.

Mutual respect policy…Change The Culture…

Will, they won’t they…? ooh! it’s just like watching moonlighting, (that ages me).

Looks like what is meant to be an anti-bullying policy has got caught up in the free speech culture wars. It’s probably all changed again let’s hope they don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater…

The Vice-Chancellor has decided to withdraw the Change the Culture campaign announced last month.

It has become clear that the updated HR policies which underpinned the campaign were launched prematurely and without full scrutiny.

https://www.cam.ac.uk/notices/news/statement-from-the-university-of-cambridge-on-the-change-the-culture-campaign

In accordance with the statement of 3 June 2021 on the Change the Culture campaign, the Dignity at Work Policy remains in place.

https://www.hr.admin.cam.ac.uk/policies-procedures/dignity-work-policy

Mind you there is a nice flow chart…

https://www.hr.admin.cam.ac.uk/files/daw_informal_flowchart_final.pdf

https://www.hr.admin.cam.ac.uk/files/daw_formal_flowchart_final.pdf

At the moment it looks like the anonymous reporting of inappropriate behavior is only for students. Staff get punted back to here:

https://www.hr.admin.cam.ac.uk/policies-procedures/support-services-and-reporting-options-staff-who-have-experienced-inappropriate

By the way, if you do manage to click through the ask a union rep links, the link to unites web site is wrong our site is: