CityUniversity of Hong Kong Staff Association

Unconfirmed minutes of 1st Executive Committee 2008-2010 held 3 October 2008

Present:Dr John Tse, Chair

Dr Robin Bradbeer, Deputy Chair

Dr L F Yeung, Treasurer

Dr W W Fung, Officer without Portfolio

Ms Julyanna Chan, Officer without Portfolio

Mr Eddie Yu, Vice Chair, A

Mr K W Shea, Vice Chair, B

Mr K T Chan, Section B Representative

Mr Derek Cheung, Section C Representative

Mr Mak Hoi Wah, Council Representative

In attendance:Dr Brian Siu

1.Apologies for absence

None

2.Minutes of the last meeting

Item 10. IEEE should read IET

3.Matters arising from the minutes

i)Item 6: SCC Meeting:

Chair reported that all the points had been raised with the management side at the last SCC meeting. He was sad to note that the issue of the restoration of pay for those employed after 2004 was not addressed in the recent proposals for cost of living increase. It was agreed that a formal letter to Council be sent by the two Council representatives, and that the issue of a bonus also be discussed for the post 2004 staff if a pay rise was not agreed.

ii)Item 8: Post-retirement benefits plan:

The proposal that long serving staff be entitled to enter the post-retirement benefits plan was agreed. Staff working more than 10 years will be eligible.

iii) Item 11: AOB

It was agreed that the evaluation of the College Principal should proceed, and that CityU staff originally seconded to the CCCU and who are now with SCOPE be eligible to take part. A draft based on the evaluation of the President would be circulated for discussion

4. Chairperson's report

The signature campaign to support the 1 April 2008 date for back-dating any cost of living salary adjustment was called off as the President had convened meetings with the CityU SA Executive Committee, and had set up a joint group to look at the issue. After lengthy discussions, senior management had accepted the CityU SA's proposal, and it would be recommended to Council. It was agreed that if the Council Secretariat did not send copies of the agreed salary increase to Council members for consideration within the next few days, then CityU SA would take action to do so.

Chair reported that there was no proposal for a productivity award this year. Also, that College staff returning to the university would not get the full back pay but a proportion of the productivity award given to College staff. It was agreed that action to restore the 20% pay cut suffered in 2003 be taken after further discussion.

5.Deputy/Vice Chairpersons' reports

None

6.HKIEd Judicial Review

Deputy Chair reported that the Judicial Review into the procedures followed by the government, and which were criticised in the Committee of Inquiry, would start within the next few days. It was proposed that an Open Forum to discuss the general issue of academic freedom be arranged for 11 October. This would be organised in conjunction with other university staff associations, the action groups and with think-tanks already involved.

7.Staff Consultative Committee

Chair reported that CityU SA did not nominate a member to replace Dr Lindsay Miller in the recent election for staff representative to the SCC. One of the reasons was the relative impotence of the committee in recent years, and also that more direct action may achieve better results. The Executive Committee welcomed the involvement of alternative voices.

8.By elections

By elections were needed for 6 Executive Committee positions that were unfilled at the election in June. These were Secretary, Vice-Chair D, two Section A Representatives and two Section D Representatives. A By-election Sub-committee was set up chaired by Mr Mak Hoi Wah. Freda would be an ex-officio member and Mr Mak was asked to find another person. The by-election should be held before the end of the semester.

9.Consultative Committee for Superannuation Scheme

The Chair (John Tse) and Secretary of the Consultative Committee (Mak Hoi Wah) reported on the progress of the committee since its establishment.

10.Social activities

i)A wine tasting evening would be arranged for the end of November. Action: Robin

ii)It was agreed that a CityU Dragon Boat team be entered in next year's races. The university would be approached to assist with funding - around $30,000. Action: L F Yeung

iii)A snake dinner would be organised around Christmas/New Year. Action: W W Fung

iv)A country park walk/boat trip/bbq would be organised for mid-November. Action: Freda

vi)An overnight visit to a place of tourist interest in the mainland would be organised for early next semester. Action: Freda

11. Any other business

i)Members were astonished to learn that there would be areorganization in the University, especially as this had been learned from the newspapers. The name of Faculty would be replaced by either “College” or “School”. While which was a more proper name was debatable, our main concern was the lacking of consultation in the process.CityU Staff Associationwill not take this lightly as that could well set a bad precedent that paved a way for the dictatorial decisions in the future. We demanded a departmental consultation for this matter. The Chairman would discuss this with the new Council Chairman in a tea gathering which was being arranged.

ii)Teaching staff complained that their interests were not represented due to lacking of voting right at Departmental Executive and Staffing Committees. They felt demoralized when such basic right was deprived. As teaching colleagues (Teaching Fellows and Instructors) were responsible for a larger share of teaching load, and the University’s key mission statement strongly emphasized the importance of teaching, their basic voting right should be respected.

Staff representatives in the university Staffing Consultative Committee will raise this issue in the next SCC meeting. Prior to that, the Chairman would meet with some instructors to understand their concerns more.

iii) Members were concerned about lacking formal appeal mechanism for staff’s appraisal outcomes. In the past, numerous grievances raised by frustrated staff members who felt their appraisal, contract renewal, promotion exercises were prejudiced by management. They were helpless and later turned to SA Chairman and got their cases equitably reviewed, discussed with their management representatives and HRO staff, and finally got what they deserved. Before the appeal mechanism set up, the Chairman would act as an “ombudsman” for the staff members who are inequitably or unfairly treated in the personnel decision process.

Signed as a correct record

Dr John Tse, Chairperson, CityU Staff Association

Dated: