Covid-19 update from UCU

I hope you had a good summer break and are ready to create a positive impact on the lives of your students. We have made it very clear to the Welsh government and the employers in Wales that your ability to do just that is absolutely dependent on you feeling safe and supported to deal with the coming academic year and all the challenges that we believe will present themselves to you as staff as well as the numerous demands on your capabilities and time.

So what arrangements have we agreed with the employer?

We agreed with the employer a set of protocols for a return to the workplace and they can be found here.

The feedback we've had from your branch officers thus far is that the vast majority of colleges are abiding by the agreed protocols and where there are issues, we are currently raising them with the employer and the government.

However, if on your return to the workplace there is an issue that concerns you please raise it with your branch officer in the first instance, before doing anything else. It is really important that you do this as it allows all of us as the union to identify problems and deal with them promptly and effectively. We have been given assurances by the employers' representatives that your safety and well-being as are important to the employer as that of their learners. If you don't share with us your concerns then we can't act to resolve them, please let your branch officer know.

The employer is required under health and safety legislation to look after all the staff learners and visitors on their premises. They do this by conducting risk assessments and as a consequence of their findings of that risk assessment they may need to put in place safe systems of working. Those risk assessments and information on safe systems of working are to be held in one accessible place on the college intranet.

If you check the risk assessment and you believe the risk assessment is not 'suitable and sufficient' (the legal requirement) for the area in which you are expected to work, then please contact your branch officer. The branch officers are supported by the staff in the Wales office and will help them persuade the college to review the risk assessment to address your concerns.

All staff should be asked to provide information to allow the employer to identify individuals who are vulnerable or extremely vulnerable and have needed to shield themselves over the past few months, please provide this information to the employer when requested. If you have any concerns in this area please consult your medical practitioner to get advice. Once you have that advice if the employer is not addressing your concerns and the recommendations of your medical practitioner please contact your branch officer.

Recent Welsh Government guidance has declared that shielding ended for all persons on 17 August 2020. UCU is acutely aware that this does not affect your high risk status if you contract COVID-19. We would therefore recommend that all members who come under this category formally request an individual risk assessment and please cc in your branch officer. This will ensure the college considers any appropriate additional controls to keep such members safe.

However it is likely that there will be local lock downs and we are currently discussing the arrangements for this group of staff with the Welsh Government and the employers. We will keep you updated as guidance is developed.

Finally, PPE, face masks and visors. UCU has made it very clear to the employer representatives (and Welsh government) that we expect PPE to be issued to staff who request it. We are also expecting colleges to announce soon that they will require all staff, learners and visitors to wear face masks in communal areas of the college.

I hope it is clear to you that UCU Wales officers and branch officers are ready to support your return to the workplace, if it is appropriate for you to do so. The focus of the information provided is to help you understand that our ability to do that depends absolutely on our collective behaviours, whether that is personal hygiene or collective responsibility the UCU branches in our colleges in their engagement with your employer. Information is key to effective collective bargaining, our members are the source of that information, especially in their own work areas, please share your knowledge and concerns, help keep everyone safe.

Remember the advice - wash your hands regularly and stay two metres apart whenever possible.

This deadly virus is still within our communities, help prevent its spread in colleges.

Margaret Phelan
UCU Wales official