Letter to VC regarding Menzies refurbishment

Monday, 25 June 2007

Dear Professor Larkins

I am writing to you concerning the Menzies refurbishment process. Specifically, I wish to request convening and regular meeting of the Implementation Committee which would be responsible for the Menzies refurbishment as was announced by then-SDVC Stephen Parker at a public meeting in October 2006.

The proposal to establish an Implementation Committee was presented to the Menzies 2006 Committee by the NTEU midway through 2006. This was accepted, and at the public meeting to report on the work of the Menzies Committee on October 3, 2006, chaired by then SDVC Stephen Parker, the form and membership of the Implementation Committee were discussed. At that meeting, Professor Parker confirmed that the NTEU would continue its participation on the Implementation Committee, following its representation on the Menzies 2006 Committee.

It is now nearly eight months since that announcement, and we believe it has not yet met. We also believe that despite that, decisions are being taken on many aspects of the refurbishment, without either this committee or our participation. You will know of the anxiety of staff members about the lack of information and consultation since the beginning of 2007. Staff working in the building have raised issues ranging from the number of times they will be moved in the course of the refurbishments to what amenities and facilities will there be when it is all done. Office configuration and use of space, ease of access to higher floors and heating and cooling capacities also feature prominently among their concerns.

Whilst expert advice is always necessary, we are strongly of the view that to rely solely on such advice without user input is an inappropriate approach to take, both for staff morale and for the likelihood of missing details that users know and experts cannot predict.

The NTEU therefore asks you to ensure that the Implementation Committee meet in the very nearest future, with NTEU representatives participating as per the decisions taken in 2006. We also request that the current state of the refurbishment and the short term and long term plans for the continuing refurbishment of the Menzies building be presented at every school in meetings set up specifically for this purpose in the first 4 weeks of semester 2.

Having been informed by Menzies staff of their concerns, we will distribute to them a copy of this letter and of your response to this request.

I look forward to your positive response.

Dr Carol Williams

President
Monash Branch NTEU

Menzies building update

The following text is an excerpt from a brochure recently produced by the Branch and distributed to the members currently located in the Menzies building.

Early in 2006 as the lifts and escalators broke down, people using the stairs experienced a pedestrian log-jam in the building that was potentially very dangerous. Once again, the Menzies was not coping with the demands upon it and things were to get worse with the treatment of the facade, the removal of the shutters, the noise, the heat and the dust. The university was content to consider the future of this landmark building without reference to the staff and little reference to the students.

The NTEU forced the university to pay attention to user concerns and to consult us on behalf of staff about what was happening in the short term and what would be the long-term future of the Menzies.

At a time when staff in particular are facing severe disruption as it becomes their turn to move, the silence and lack of consultation screams loudly. We bring you this leaflet to remind you of what has happened, and to suggest what must. And what must happen is a proper consultative process that allows people affected by the process to have a say at that time and in its lead-up. We see the best way for that is to be school-based, though the OHS issues of the building must
be more widely canvassed.

This silence must end and you must have an opportunity for input. We have written to the Vice Chancellor seeking participation in an operational committee that meets regularly. This special brochure is about the Menzies and our plans for ensuring you again have an organised voice. We encourage you to go to the Branch website and refer to the Menzies documents stored there. Above all, get involved - so that you have a voice.