Dear Tatte members,
We know that it remains a challenging time for many of us as we navigate the ongoing pandemic, as well as the changes underway in the university as a result of last year’s layoffs and the reorganization of Tampere University’s centralized support staff. In this context, Tatte continues to work hard to represent the interests of its members and support the conditions for meaningful research and teaching.
To help meet these challenges, Tatte welcomes a new board for 2022: Toni Pakkanen (President), Liisa Ahlava (Derek Ruez), Jaana Virta (Mikko Poutanen), Vesna Holubek (Kirsi Varpa), Mila Bujic (Paula Saarinen), and Ashok Aspatwar (Anne Soronen). Liisa Ahlava as the first, and Mikko Poutanen as the second vice-president. We extend a warm thanks to all the board members, shop stewards, and other active members who put in so much work last year.
We also wish to draw your attention to a recent statement from the Chief Shop Stewards at Tampere University that recommends that teachers and researchers not take on support services tasks outside their contract that were previously performed by support staff before the layoffs. This is related to the ongoing dispute over how to allocate the work that was handled by support staff that were made redundant. See the statement here: https://intra.tuni.fi/en/content/news/33916.
Members should be aware that we are entering the time period when a new collective agreement governing the working conditions of university staff will be negotiated. Tatte is represented by FUURT at the national level, which in turn is represented by JUKO (Negotiation Organisation for Public Sector Professionals). The negotiations, which are a part of collective agreement negotiations across the Finnish labor sectors, will begin February 11th. The current agreement is in effect up to March 31st (and further to bridge negotiations, unless the negotiations break off). The negotiations have been hard in the past, and look to be the same this year. You can access the current agreement here https://www.sivista.fi/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Sivista-2020_EN-Yliopistojen_yleinen_tyoehtosopimus_1.4.2020-31.3.2022-nettiin-16092020.pdf. Tatte will seek to keep its members informed about the negotiations, and additional information can also be found at https://tyoehtosoppa.fi/en/.
Tatte is also looking for an active member to volunteer as a communications officer to assist us with our Finnish-language communications. This person would work closely with our English-language communication officer to prepare short posts on Tatte’s website and social media accounts, as well as occasional email newsletters. Please contact us at assistentti@tatte.fi if you would be interested in contributing in this way.
Finally, the working group on international members of Tampere universities warmly invites you to attend an online event discussing the results of their recent survey on the experiences of international researchers, teachers, and staff on Friday, February 11 at 13:00. The event will be held on Zoom (https://tuni.zoom.us/s/66543020781). No registration is required, and more information about the event can be found at https://intra.tuni.fi/en/content/news/33843.
Our association is only as strong as our membership, and we encourage the active participation of our members in all our work. Please contact us with your ideas and input and follow us on social media for announcements regarding upcoming events and other opportunities to get involved. Also, please save the date for our spring assembly, Thursday, April 28 beginning at 16.30.
Best wishes,
Tatte