Meeting Minutes

Minutes of the DMSC Akademikerklub taken on the 3rd November 2022

Published on November 03, 2022 by Andrew McCluskey

minutes post

7 min READ

Representatives: Simon Ward (SW) and Andrew McCluskey (ARM)

Number of participants: 22 (including representatives)

Agenda

  • News from the “setting up of the union” project
  • Update on the Collective Agreement development plans
  • Information/feedback on the office move
  • Julefrokost 2022

Minutes

Setting up the akademikerklub (SW)

  • The process has taken longer than hoped but we have gotten there.
  • The DMSC akademikerklub is an official, legally registered entity.
  • However, both SW and ARM need to get training in the processes and procedures associated with being a tillidsvalgte and through IDA this exists only in Danish, though DM has English courses that we will take.
  • SW & ARM stated that anything brought to them will be treated in complete confidence and any complaints may be brought to us and given to management anonymously. This includes subjects such as working conditions, office move, etc.
  • We will take minutes of all meetings (Ps. which will be anonymized except for SW and ARM and where prior consent is given) and disseminate them through a private Slack channel (pending approval).

(Swedish) Collective Agreement (ARM)

  • We currently have no collective agreement; though it can be argued that we “live with” the Swedish collective agreement (Ps. available here confluence.esss.lu.se/display/HR/Collective+agreement).
  • This agreement typically lasts for three years but can last any of 1, 2, or 3 years.
  • The current Swedish Collective Agreement ends at the end of March 2023 and negotiation will begin on this after Christmas.
  • It is believed by representatives from the Swedish akademikerklub that there is a higher possibility this time of a short “peace period” due to general market/inflation volatility.
  • Therefore, following consultation with the representative unions (specifically DM), the suggested course of action this time is to let the Swedish organise the new collective agreement and then in 2024 we will try and add a “Danish appendix” which has the opportunity to give us the “best of both worlds”.
    • Ps. A potential example was this (from an ill-formed ARM) was the benefit concerning sick child leave. However, following further examination, this is not included in the collective agreement. Rather it is mentioned in the employee handbook (confluence.esss.lu.se/display/HR/Collective+agreement) and is different for the Swedish and Danish staff.
  • There was general support for the idea of a Danish appendix and it was noted that there is potentially a stronger voice if we negotiate as the full ESS rather than the “remote island” of DMSC. Additionally, it was commented that an appendix now does not stop us from having a fully independent agreement in future.
  • Some potential subjects for the Danish appendix are noted here:
    • The Danish staff holiday set is the national minimum set and notably usually less than the Swedish staff get.
    • Swedish staff have a 40 hr work week (Ps. not including a lunch break) whereas Danish staff working hrs are on a contract-to-contract basis.
    • Self-determination of pension.
    • A documented scaling factor for salary difference between Denmark and Sweden.
    • Closer to when we start to define a Danish appendix, we will seek more feedback on subject areas to focus on.

Office Move (SW)

  • We will need to move internally at COBIS in March 2023, most likely to the old canteen space.
  • There is the worry that problems with COBIS networking will make a move within the building particularly disruptive.
  • It is expected that we will then move away from COBIS before the lease deadline of March 2024, so that an office move does not overlap with Hot Commissioning.
  • A range of new office locations are being considered, but it is important to remember that the final decision sits with ESS senior management, the local committee can only advise.
  • SW has conducted a “travel to work” analysis of all locations under consideration with a focus on minimising change concerning the current location.
  • There will be winners and losers but there is no way to avoid a move so the local aim is to minimise impact.
  • Moving offices will render current contracts invalid and therefore we must understand our “rights”.
  • Our employer is required to give notice of the move typically this is between 1 and 6 months (see note below) before the move. At this stage each employee has three options:
    1. Sign the new contract.
    2. Consider that the new location is a “substantial change” to the current contract and request compensation/amendments to account for this.
    3. Not sign and accept contract termination after the notice period.
  • However, a substantial change is not a well-defined quantity. It is usually time/distance based on current work location and is therefore very individual. SW and ARM will support employees with these discussions as necessary.
  • This contract regeneration will not affect the total time of employment (seniority) for any staff members.
  • The new offices will not be sublet with a lease of greater than 10 years but similar to COBIS we will be sharing the building with other companies.
  • It is extremely unlikely that there will be air conditioning but most office spaces include some form of “climate control”.
  • So far everything is rather “open-plan” but the current idea is to include glass walls to separate the space into smaller offices, possibly around different teams.
  • The new office space will be larger than the current one, expected to have space for 62 staff plus 20 visitors.
  • It is unlikely, due to the time taken to obtain budget approval that we will get the first place we look at but it is hoped that the budgetary roundabout will only be required once.
  • Currently, ESS senior management has had a hands-off approach to the process, however, there is the worry that this may choose a new location without considering the impact on staff or the input from the local committee, based on “connection to a University environment”.
    • This would be extremely disappointing and potentially risk losing many staff members; the impact of this will be made clear to ESS senior management.
  • SW requested feedback on the pros and cons of the current office that will be fed back to management:
    • Pros:
      • Meeting rooms close to offices (Ps. new offices will have DMSC constructed meeting rooms).
      • Close to server room (Ps. the possibility of relocating the server room is also on the table).
      • Small offices (max. 6 people) are preferable to the co-location with people in the same group/team.
      • Close to nice bars and restaurants, which is important for a social atmosphere.
      • On-site canteen is also important for inter-DMSC communication.
    • Cons:
      • Bike parking is unsafe. One member has had 3 bikes stolen in 6 months (Ps. solution is to get a crappier bike?).
      • DMSC social area could be improved. It is currently split over a corridor and is regularly used by other groups.

Julefrokost 2022

  • The Julefrokost cannot be organised by the Admin team this year to short staffing.
  • Therefore SW and ARM were asked by Admin to investigate the organisation.
  • The costs this year are typically between 700-800 DKK per person (for a set menu, not necessarily a traditional Julefrokost).
  • Generally, it was felt that this was too expensive and instead we should organise our own in the canteen of COBIS and order food from a local “derhjemme” service (i.e. Meyer’s or Madklubben)
  • Dr Jenny Walker (freshly anointed) and Morten Jagd Christensen (also a Dr but less fresh) agreed to take on the role of organisation for this event.
  • We need to check that we can bring alcohol to the canteen, both with COBIS and DMSC management.
  • Traditionally, the Lund Science division members are also invited and this year shall be no different.
  • If this plan is not possible, we will try to go to a pub one Friday afterwork in lieu of a full celebration.

Notes

  • Ps. Our contract states that if beyond probation period we follow the terms of the Salaried Employees Act. This defines the following notice periods:
    • Before the end of 5 months’ employment, the employee must be given 1 month’s notice.
    • Before the end of 2 years and 9 months’ employment, the employee must be given 3 months’ notice.
    • Before the end of 5 years and 8 months’ employment, the employee must be given 4 months’ notice.
    • Before the end of 8 years and 7 months’ employment, the employee must be given 5 months’ notice.
    • After this time, the employee must be given 6 months’ notice.