Report of the Staff Council

Since the staff council elections on 22 April 2021, the staff council has been composed of the following seven staff members:

• Christine Fischer ( Chairwoman of the Staff Council)
• Sascha Spieß (Deputy Chairman of the Staff Council)
• Elke Jensch
• Stefan Gadinger
• Beate Weinhold
• Laila Wien
• Natascha Schlereth

With Kerstin Thon, Sonja Wilker and Morris Staudt, three substitute members were also elected. As of 01 June 2021, the new staff council was in office.

What is the best way to describe 2021 in a nutshell?
Surprisingly, the pandemic would become everyday life at some point, but 2021 was like that. Of course, for another year most of the meetings could not take place in presence, but we got familiar with the digital way and I must say it worked out well. Of course, the human one-on-one is more valuable, but given the situation, we made the best of it. Resolutions can also be passed in writing, and video or telephone conferences are permissible, provided that the prescribed procedures are followed. An amendment to the Rhineland-Palatinate Staff Representation Act was drafted specifically for this purpose. And since we are digitally well-positioned, we were able to act and take decisions at any time. Different times, different ways.
Even in a crisis, it is a nice experience that together we can always find an alternative way.

That sounds like an almost normal year, doesn't it?
As far as our work is concerned, it actually was. If you exclude the uncertainty factor, the constant back and forth of the guidelines and the constantly shifting silver lining, we did our work as in other years. A total of 25 meetings (9 still with the old staff council) were held and we were there for our team in countless telephone conversations.

Were these the same topics as usual in the communication with the colleagues?
No! In 2021 we had colleagues who had been on short-time work for 18 months. The issues were clearly different. Worries about their jobs, worries about the continued existence of the Studierendenwerk and worries about their own personal future were very big issues. Many still remembered the lack of support from the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in 2020, when we were unable to offer 51 seasonal staff a renewed contract during the lock-down in the middle of the year. Staff that we would very much like to have back today, by the way, but cannot find on the labour market. There was a justified fear that the permanent staff could also be affected. I am glad that together with the management we mobilised financial reserves to be able to counteract the complete "bleeding out" on the staff side. So in addition to all the pandemic problems, we were also challenged - together with all those involved - to hold the Studierendenwerk together as best we could and to secure its future viability. There were no more securities left. So it was far from a normal year.

Pretty clear criticism of politics, isn't it?
Yes, politically it was not understood and also not checked what would become of the student union once the pandemic was over. We communicated this to the ministry, but have not received any feedback to date. We can see the result now. Two canteens have been closed indefinitely since September 2021 due to staff shortages. It's a shame that there was no "rescue package" for student unions like there was for other industries. We simply didn't feel relevant enough. As a public service, we used to be a "safe employer". But since 2020, this good reputation is over for us for the time being. We now have to work on improving our reputation, even though we definitely cannot be held responsible for its deterioration during the crisis. In any case, we are doing everything we can to restore our old reliability and employer-friendliness. Because the Studierendenwerk was and is a very good employer.

What did the work of the staff council look like in concrete terms in 2021?
We held 3 quarterly meetings in the financial year and took part in 4 Administrative Board meetings as a voting member of the Administrative Board. Of course, the classic tasks also include participating in recruitment, reviewing all application documents and participating in personnel matters such as staff interviews, terminations, dismissals, allowances and the personnel changes due to the reconstruction of our canteen and cafeteria in Bürgerstraße.
In 2021, it was particularly important to listen to the very different questions of our colleagues and to take their concerns about the workplace seriously. We also discussed issues such as health and safety with the management.