MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY

STAFF CONSULATIVE GROUP

MINUTES OF MEETING OF 12 June 2008

Minutes of the meeting of the Staff Consultative Group held on 12 June 2008 at 9.30 am in the Council Room, E11A.

Present:

 Dr Peter Browne 					A10
 Phoebe Dangerfield				G6
Mr Edward Davies 				CPSU
Ms Alana Freeburn 				NTEU
Mr Dylan Hodson					G5
Ms Carolyn Kennett (Chair)			NTEU
Ms Carlene Kirvan					G9
Dr Rosalind Kitson					A4
Mr Michael Marston
Ms Catherine McMahon				G11
 Associate Professor Catriona McKenzie	A7
 Ms Dianne Mitchell					CPSU
Mr Rod Nurthen 					G12
Ms Cathy Rytmeister 				A1
Mr Vasantha Saparamadu 			NTEU
Ms Cathie Shanley					G13
			 Mr Greg Stark 					CPSU
 Ms Sue Spinks					A9
 Ms Sondra Wibberley 				CPSU
 Ms Cathy Wright					G14

			 
Apologies		Ms Laura Billington					G7
Associate Professor Suzan Burton 		A2
Dr Iain Stewart					A6
Ms Stephanie Grolimund				NTEU
 			A/Professor Marea Mitchell			A5
			Associate Professor Julian Leslie			A3
Mr Lachlan Morgan	(Deputy Chair)		G4
Ms Leanne Cameron 				G8

Vacant Electorates	General Staff VC					G2
			Academic Staff ELS					A8
			General Staff Library				G1
			General Staff ELS					G12
			General Staff Law					G10

The apologies as listed above were noted.				

Guests: 		Mr Tim Sprague Director, Human Resources
			Mr Michael Carley, Manager Staff Health
			Ms Sharon Kerr, Manager Accessibility Services

2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

Minutes were accepted without amendment.

3.	BUSINESS ARISING FROM MINUTES

Election Process for Vacant Electorates

Since the February SCG meeting an election process had been conducted for vacant electorates with the following new appointments.

Carlene Kirvan (G9) and Dylan Hodson (G2) were appointed uncontested. 
An election process will need to be conducted for electorate G2.
No nominations were received for electorates G1, G12, G10, A8.

The SCG welcomed its new members.

4.	REPORT FROM THE DIRECTOR HUMAN RESOURCES

Policy Central

At the SCG Meeting of February 2008, the Director, Human Resources identified that a Central Policy Register had been established and that Human Resources would be working to have all HR policies revisited to ensure consistency with the new policy template by September 2008. 
Human Resources will commence the process of consultation on the reformatted policy from the next meeting of the SCG noting that the majority of changes would in formatting rather than content.   

Code of Conduct

Human Resources has been working on a review of the Code of Conduct and the first draft will be referred to the Ethics Committee for its meeting of 25th June. Following review and feedback from the Ethics Committee the revised Code of Conduct will be referred to the SCG for consultation.

Grievance Handling Project

Human Resources has progressed its review project with respect to the University’s current Grievance Handling process. The outcomes of this review will be forwarded to the SCG later in the year.

     Your Say Survey

These results have now been finalized and the standout results are that the strategic direction of the University has improved by 30%. The lowest scoring results relate to the University’s delivery related to IT Services.

Leave Online

It was identified that in the context of leave online training staff have been advised that they are only able to take long service leave in increments of 7 days. It was requested that this matter be investigated in the context of the Enterprise Agreement requirements.

Space Policy

There has been considerable discussion with respect to the University space policy and its impact on staff proposed relocation to the AFTA’s building, discussions are progressing positively and a working party has been established to examine the key issues.

Resolution 16/08

The SCG recommends the appointment of 2 representatives on the Space Working Party 1 Academic, 1 General. It is also requested that the Director Human Resources invite the CPSU. 

5.	Presentation from Sharon Kerr, Manager Accessibility Services

Ms Kerr provided a short presentation with respect to the University’s Accessibility Services, identifying areas where the University needs to enhance and develop its strategies in support of staff with Accessibility requirements. 

   Resolution 17/08

The SCG recommends that HR ensure that new systems, procedures and guidelines are accessible to existing and potential staff. Systemic issues need to be addressed to ensure accessibility for staff seeking employment with the University. 

6.	Presentation by Michael Carley, Manager Staff Health

Mr Carley provided a brief presentation with respect to current O H & S initiatives. O H & S is currently working to introduce O & H & S on line and has taken into account accessibility issues as a part of this process.

Mr Carley reported that the general reporting rate of incidents in the workplace is low and it is hoped that the online system will facilitate better reporting of incidents.

The University is in the process of examining a range of Non Smoking in the Workplace initiatives, some in collaboration with U@MQ.

The O H & S team is also currently working on the roll out of O H & S training on line. 

7.	REPORTS FROM SUB COMMITTEES

Implementation Review Sub Committee 

Faculty General Staff Change

A brief oral report was presented by Ms Rytmeister identifying that the SCG would provide a list of issues related to the Faculty General Staff change proposal which Ms McMahon would collate.

8.	REPORTS FROM WORKING PARTIES

Flexible Working Arrangements

Following further meetings of the Flexible Working Arrangements Working Party it has been recommended that the policy be rewritten to fit the workplace not the system. This working party has been working constructively through the issues and a new policy will be created in the short term.

9.	Space Policy

The SCG has welcomed the opportunity to consult further on the Space policy and is very pleased with the University’s approach related to earlier concerns raised by the SCG. It is important that the job needs and what staff do is taken into account in this process.

Other Business

There was discussion with respect to the difficulties staff were experiencing with the email system which has become so serious that it is impacting on productivity.

Resolution 18/08

The SCG expresses its strong dismay and dissatisfaction with the University's email and IT System. Disruption to the email system is having a significant impact on the work and productivity of staff, the University's reputation in the external community and our students. It is noted that the situation is worsening over time.

It was noted that Ms Cathy Rytmeister and Assoc Professor Catriona Mackenzie would be on OSP for the remaining 2008 SCG meetings.

Mr Peter Browne is resigning from the University. The SCG and Chair therefore extended their formal thanks for his excellent contributions to the SCG.

Meeting closed 11:45 am

Next Meeting 8 August 9:30 am Council Room