With the exec review on the horizon and non-sabb love at it's lowest, I will be dedicating this blog to my amazing non-sabb buddies.
It is an indisputable fact that non-sabbs aren't working.
For a couple of years now I have heard non - sabbs claiming little to no support from the guild and of being ignored in terms of HR support.
It's true. We get very little staff support, and frequently have our emails and requests ignored. Not in the sense of we're told we can't have something, but that we are left hanging and often have to email several times and get a sabb to ask on our behalf to receive any kind of reply.
My question is, if the power of unions is in the membership, if we are to use this through the proper facilitation of our volunteers; then why aren't we even making an attempt to integrate our volunteers with core staff and resources at the top of the organisation?
When the new budget was being discussed for the next academic year, I put forward the suggestion of a part time member of staff charged with facilitating the non - sabbs work and bridging the gap between them and HR. Several non-sabbs, or the ones who are still around supported this idea; however when it came to budget cuts this was the first to go.
This is not simply me having a go as a non-sabb, though I do like to do so :), this is a recurrent issue in this building. We do not and don't even try to utilise or involve the skills and potential of all our willing and able volunteers in any of our advocacy and campaigning work.
All is not lost though. I used to be a 'societies sceptic' in that I couldn't really understand their importance to a union, however student development is a great place to look to for ideas on facilitating, encouraging and developing our volunteers. It should not go unnoticed that yes this does take staff support and heavy resource commitment, if we want to see this elsewhere we will need to make similar commitments.
We need to put our money where our mouth is. An amusing turn of phrase, but also pretty damn apt in more ways than one! If we want more wins in our campaigning and advocacy work, then we need to increase our capacity. If we want to increase our capacity, we have to use our volunteers.
p.s. comments please...love you...
As a previous Non Sab myself, I can only say that I couldn't get anything done as I was ignored. Either the non sabb positions need to be scrapped thus taking unions out of the effective power of students or something drastic needs to be done. A part time non-sabb liasion worker sounds good to me, although there is a danger that they may be sidelined as well
ReplyDeleteYes, you are very very right. It's far too easy for sabbs to pick and champion which non-sabbs work best fits within their own remit (VPDRs and EEOs I'm looking at you... I love you all but it is true!) and sort of leave the others to get on with it... without proper staff support or a sabb backing a campaign, it's hard to do anything! A new staff member could potentially fix that. Look Emma, it's a comment. OK :p
ReplyDeleteAs another Non-Sabb, my perspective has always been that I don't really expect the Guild to offer me anything more than it already does, with which I am satisfied. I've always felt that the expectations of us should reflect what it is possible to achieve, rather than t'other way round.
ReplyDeleteAt last nights Guild Council there were four of us in attendance out of a possible 11. I know that we are all in the middle of exams, but none of us can say that we didn't know this would be the case when we stood for election. Inevitably the enthusiasm for our roles drops off as time progresses and the gap between aspiration and achievement widens. The fault for this lies with Guild Council too. When do they ever hold us to account? Have any of us been questioned at all this year? Certain hacks would get arsey if we didn't submit reports - but who bothered to read them if we did?
My solution - abolish the Non-Sabb positions. All of them, and I bet you they aren't missed. Where a demographic exists that needs support; strengthen or create the relevant association.
sorry for the mini-rant, looks like you've opened a box of worms 'ere.
I like the idea of integrating “volunteers with core staff and resources at the top of the organisation” and the idea that the power of the union rests in its membership, I think you’re definitely on to something here.
ReplyDeleteI don’t see however the suggestion of “a part time member of staff charged with facilitating the non - sabbs work” achieves this goal.
While non sabs are volunteers they are just as vertical in their power structures as any sabbatical so do not I see how empowering the non sabbaticals with more staff engages any more volunteers?