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Back to work
Jan. 24th, 2007 08:31 pmAfter meet time-off followed by the plague... Well, actually, I did go to work on the Tuesday last week - collecting mud samples for a project that I'm running, investigating the statistical rigour of our sampling strategies. That wasn't much fun whilst I was running a fever. Anyhow, as usual, I'm rambling. Getting back into the laboratory on Monday contained many surprises - the first being that we are expecting to change Chief Executive Officer - our new CEO will be starting mid-February - just as I'm away in Baltimore (typical). For those that don't know - I am the Trade Union chair for my work organisation, so I have a closer interest than most in my CEO, after all - I have to work with him/her in order to raise staff issues and negotiate terms, conditions, pay - all that sort of thing.
A lot of people have a negative view of Trade Unions, but I see unionisation as a way of ensuring that a workplace has good working conditions and as a TU official, my most important job is to act as a channel of information - to let the very top person in the organisation know how the policies and management are actually working/affecting the staff on the ground. And liaising with others doing a similar job in other closely allied business areas, so that best practice gets passed around. Treating people fairly, so that they can perform at their best and help the business to thrive. So the last couple of days have been spent at firstly the Trade Union Branch Council and then Annual Delegates Conference. Talking with my TU colleagues about our concerns, in a difficult climate where a dogmatic political influence insists that public sector workers should be reduced in number, regardless of the complexity of the services they are tasked with delivering to the taxpaying public. In a world where their pay bills are to be kept below inflation, so as to keep the country's inflation to a minimum, never minding that this effectively delivers pay cuts to people already paid below private sector workers, as we supposedly enjoy such perks as job security and a good pension scheme (disregarding the fact that the government is committed to shedding jobs and changing the pension provision). And if you think of civil servants as faceless beaurocrats - consider what is delivered by my department - we have people testing the safety of veterinary medicines, the pesticides used on crops, the health and welfare of farm animals, environmental specialists monitoring pollution levels, ensuring high food standards, husbanding sites of special scientific interest, monitoring and husbanding rare species, working to establish sustainable development - I can go on and on. None of these services would be appropriately delivered by private business.
At the same time, there are lots of good things about working for the good of the country - it's a rewarding, interesting job and I feel like I really contribute. And there are good provisions for leave, flexible working and equal opportunities. And since I've taken on the role of TU representative, I've been privy to all sorts of information and a much more thorough appreciation of how the entire organisation works - it's fascinating stuff. Today we got the opportunity to quiz the Permanent Secretary direct, which was useful and informative - not least to see what a clever shrewd individual she is and let her show her operational limitations, whilst ensuring that she understands those at the other end of the business to her, those of us that have to deliver the objectives that she is instrumental in setting, following the Ministerial briefing. And the Minister gets interested in all sorts of things - here's a link to his blog, if you are interested in finding out more
