Olav W. Bertelsen has just been elected as the new joint union representative for VIP and AC-TAP when Omnibus meets him. As the only candidate on the list, the election did not come as a surprise. He is pleased to have been elected, as he emphasises.

"But I have also mixed feelings about it. Because it means that there are things I no longer have time to do. Things that have been the main focus of my work until now, including teaching."

Will put pressure on the ministry

Olav W. Bertelsen’s overall focus will be directed at working towards the University being a good place to work in a situation where it’s facing serious economic challenges.

"We thought we had created a robust organisation after the cutbacks and round of dismissals in 2014. But then the government came along with further savings."

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In this context, he believes it may be necessary to look at his role in a broader context than just within an AU framework.

"I think it can be an advantage to think more broadly politically and to collaborate with the union representatives at the other universities and with the trade unions, so we can in this way put some pressure on the ministry."  

We must stand shoulder to shoulder

Even though he has been chosen as the joint union representative for the two VIP and AC-TAP groups, he also sees himself as union representative for the other staff groups at AU.

"It’s important that we stand shoulder to shoulder as employees in regard to the management. That’s how we’ll get the best result."

Olav W Bertelsen on:

The Psychological Workplace Assessment 2016:

"The psychological WPA is an important tool for ensuring that people don’t become ill because of their work. I have seen how the work with action plans, particularly following the previous psychological WPA, has been really fruitful. But I find that people are uninterested in the psychological WPA. They’re tired of spending time on them when they have been shown not to have much effect. However, we have this year incorporated a battery of questions about the reasons for the employees' overtime, which I’m very much looking forward to."

Dismissals and voluntary redundancy packages:

"We need to ensure better opportunities for leaving AU in a good and proper manner. That’s to say, there needs to be a higher degree of decency in the way people are dismissed. The space for voluntary redundancy packages is very, very limited, and that’s not viable in the long run. Especially not in a situation where we’re facing economic challenges that will mean many people will lose their jobs. With the cutbacks that the government has announced, you’d have to be naive to believe that this isn’t going to lead to staff reductions. The clear cost-cutting targets announced by the administration cannot be carried out by natural wastage alone. I think it would be a good idea to be able to think about getting hold of people at an early stage and helping them move on through the right competency development."   

His style as joint union representative:

"I see my task as cooperating with the management and I will mostly continue with the way of working that I employed as the union representative at ST, which was characterised by extensive cooperation with the management. In my experience, it’s easier to achieve success through cooperation. On the other hand, sometimes you must stick to your guns, or you have to leave the negotiations. But I also consider that to be good cooperation."

Competency development:

"The academic employees are not good enough at competency development. Especially the members of academic staff (VIPs). Perhaps because as a member of academic staff, you think that you’re constantly developing and acquiring new knowledge. But when it comes to learning something completely new, like a new method or how to become better at dissemination, that’s something that we’re not good enough at doing."

Pay negotiations:

"The amount budgeted by the management side is pretty meagre. So that’s clearly a challenge. From the union representative side, as always, we try to press the salary budgets up. Obviously in light of the economic situation we’re facing, now isn’t the time to go after big pay rises. But of course you can always focus on the fact that finances are being challenged, and then there won’t ever be any pay increases. In addition, this year's budget is divided into a framework for pay increases and a framework for one-time bonuses. I’m certainly not a supporter of one-time bonuses, because they don’t lead to permanent pay increases and are not pensionable."

Translated by Peter Lambourne