Created on: 04 Nov 2022 | Last modified: 23 Feb 2023
The decision by CoGC management to increase potential for additional classes to be added to timetables by timetabling breaks and redefining ‘class contact time’ is detrimental both to student learning and an unfair/unsustainable increase in lecturer workload.
At present, we are contracted to allow for inclusive morning and afternoon breaks. This is important when some classes are three hours long.
The timetabling of morning and afternoon breaks has allowed management to manufacture ‘saved’ class contact time in order to increase the number of class sessions. This has transformed scheduled breaks into ‘non class contact time’ which is in fact time needed for prepping and marking.
We believe, such changes represent an unacceptable breach of custom and practice regarding contractually agreed breaks. Changes such as these should be subject to negotiations between CoGC management and local EIS-FELA Branch and not, as has happened, unilaterally imposed by management.
Therefore, we demand that management withdraw the planned timetabled breaks which redefine class contact as we believe this amounts to an unnegotiated change to our terms and conditions.