Get the most from UNISON as the Technical
Review is implemented in schools
Members' feedback from questionnaire about
Technical Review
As Aberdeenshire Council begins to implement the review of school
technical services the branch is looking at ways to best support
our members affected by the review and to encourage more of you
to become active in the branch. The branch wrote out to all members
with a short questionnaire and has now collated the responses.
The branch will now be taking your comments and feeding them
back to management. We will also be using the comments made to help
us to give our technician members the best possible support at this
difficult time.
If you have queries and comments please contact Tricia Morrison
on 01224 620624.
52% returned the postal questionnaire. Of those, the vast
majority (92%) had been able to attend the local review meeting.
Most felt they had sufficient notice (72%) and encouragement from
their line manager to attend (80%) and almost everyone (97%) felt
they were given the opportunity to ask questions at the meeting.
Two thirds of you got time to prepare for the meeting and thought
you had been made to feel welcome when you attended.
However, many of you were disappointed in the facilitators' level
of knowledge of the review process and felt that they were ill-informed
and did not give straight answers. Often they did not seem to have
the understanding to answer questions adequately which was very
frustrating. You did not feel that they sufficiently understood
the jobs that you do and did not care about the impact of the review
on many staff.
A number of you were left feeling very unsatisfied and worried
and almost 70% of you felt more insecure about your job following
the meeting. Your comments show that many of you do not feel that
the views of technical staff and teachers given as part of the consultation,
were taken into account and that the serious concerns raised made
no difference to the outcome of the review. You did not feel that
your expertise and skills have been recognised and there is a clear
sense that many of you feel degraded and devalued by the review
process and the outcome. Many of you describe anxiety and stress
within the workplace as a result.
Those of you on temporary contracts feel especially vulnerable
and the way supervisory technicians were dealt with came in for
particular criticism. You were also concerned at the short time-scale
for appeals.
Some of you were unhappy with the support from UNISON throughout
this process and would have welcomed a UNISON presence at each of
the meetings.
That is why we need more of you to become stewards or even
contacts. We will provide you with training, support and information
to support your colleagues throughout the challenging time ahead.
You are the people who know your job best and who are best paced
to do this.
Click
here for a stewards application form or contact the branch resource
centre on 01224 620624 for more information.
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Technical Review update Jan 2009
The branch has written out to all UNISON members asking them to
fill in a short questionnaire giving their experience of the technical
review and how they were informed about it. Click
here for letter.
It has also written to all those technicians who are not trade
union members to encourage them to join UNISON and benefit from
the supports that UNISON membership can offer. Click
here for letter
 "There
are many benefits to joining UNISON," said Tricia Morrison,
herself a school technician and UNISON steward, who is spearheading
the campaign.
"We provide advice and representation on various issues i.e.
pay, working practices, leave, sickness procedures and Health and
Safety in the workplace. Being a UNISON member also gives a wide
range of other benefits such as insurance, holiday deals, education
and training and many more," she added, urging non members
to consider joining. Application forms were sent out with the letters.
Click
here to join UNISON now
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