Thursday 31 May 2018 9:32pm
Coffee and comedy ... Comedian Pinky Agnew performs at the TEU's General Staff Day breakfast held at All Saints Anglican Church Hall yesterday morning.
In a time of major upheaval and uncertainty, the chance to laugh with friends and colleagues is very important, says Tertiary Education Union (TEU) organiser Shaun Scott.
That’s why comedian Pinky Agnew performed at this year’s TEU General Staff Day breakfast at All Saints Anglican Church Hall yesterday morning.
Each year, the TEU holds a “General Staff Day” with the support of the Vice-Chancellor. Professional staff were yesterday offered the option to start work an hour later to enable them to attend the breakfast.
"Having Pinky Agnew perform helped contribute to a more uplifting and positive event for people at what for many is a very difficult time. The chance to laugh with friends and colleagues is important, never more so than now."
General Staff Day 2018 fell during a two-week period of consultation for the Support Services Review (SSR), when 280 staff on the University’s Dunedin campus have received letters advising the implications of the implementation of the SSR on their current roles.
While the majority of those receiving letters have the option to be confirmed into roles similar to their existing positions, Mr Scott says there remains a high level of stress and uncertainty for many staff as they try to understand what their new or existing roles will look like into the future, “as well as a bit of grief as people see colleagues and friends leaving the University, either through voluntary redundancy or forced redundancy”.
Mr Scott says General Staff Day, which has been taking place for more than 10 years, has featured a range of events over different years, including cakes delivered to each department for the last few years.
“This year it seemed opportune to bring people from across the campus together again, in a way they could support each other, as well as just enjoy a bit of time with colleagues who they may not get to see that often.
“Having Pinky Agnew perform helped contribute to a more uplifting and positive event for people at what for many is a very difficult time. The chance to laugh with friends and colleagues is important, never more so than now.”
He says just over 60 professional staff attended the breakfast event – facing a very crisp winter’s morning to come together for coffee, breakfast and an early morning comedy hit.
"In our view, it is even more relevant to keep focusing on and celebrating the work of general staff as we go through this period of change."
“We had really positive feedback from members about the event.”
Mr Scott says this time of uncertainty makes it even more important that professional staff are recognised and celebrated.
“There have been a lot of positive messages and acts from academic colleagues during the review, and especially over the past couple of weeks – with morning teas provided, flowers given, kind words spoken.
“There is a real understanding of the importance of the work general staff do, and, more importantly, an understanding of the importance of general staff as friends and colleagues – as people.
“In our view, it is even more relevant to keep focusing on and celebrating the work of general staff as we go through this period of change. As was stated in the tagline for the first general staff day all those years back, General Staff are the Heart of the University.”
The University’s Christchurch and Wellington campuses held afternoon events to celebrate their professional staff yesterday.