Salary Schemes / R&G and Staff HB Violators / Masters Enrollees

STAFF SALARY SCHEMES  
Week before last, while TH and CG were away, we discussed the issue of Staffing and compensation. 

I  thinks that RZ, TH and AN spent two hours on it - and am awaiting their guidelines. This mattered at that time especially in regard to salaries - whatever work that came did not bring much clarity - as to how to restructure how we adjust salaries - on which there was complaints before. But lets not forget about it. 

Here the problems, came due to a salary adjustment given to staff which stepped out of standard increments. I also felt that we are unable to recruit or retain researchers with the salaries for our graduates as the University has doubled their pay. 

STAFF VIOLATIONS OF R&G 

Now we have to deal with retention and  is particularly - brought about by the fact that SS and AA  appointments - do we extend SS and do we let go for AA soon as keeping her violates the Rules and Guidelines presently about not recruiting Masters students and discouraging our staff from following part-time Masters in local Universities - at least for 4 years into their engagement.  

SS - is not following the R&G to the extent of a regular staff member. While this may be OK for an Intern, do we keep her so as to benefit with analysis for research papers and also her ability to work with numbers. 

AA - is helping us with documentation in English - we took her in an emergency situation so that we could submit two pre-proposals to PEER - as PE bailed on us and we had also thought of submitting on coral reefs. If we let her go, she could be gone - she is interviewing as an Asst Lecturer at SUSL on March 26th and she is competitive. 

There is a list of things that we can get done with her - including completing the HoT, revising the Neela Haritha draft, maybe finally writing up the climate services full papers. AN has more things to do than cover these in March. 

By April, can we recruit someone who can write up the PEER proposals? Are we going to let go off the bird in the hand without any idea of what is in the bush?

AN and I have been overwhelmed and struggle to do this even with all the help from FS, etc. 

This is not the first time, that the issue of unsatisfactory adherence to rules and guidelines and people trying to do Masters has come up. 

SS has been irregular in her attendance - the other matter such as her being not so social - is something that is not Mal-intentioned is my reading but the way she has been conditioned. 

DEALING WITH RULES AND GUIDE LINE VIOLATORS 

We had PL, HA, CJ, RA, JV, ZY, WA, NN violated the rules in the last 3 years - some of it in malicious ways than SS. We did take the time to try to get them to reform. 

When that happened, we have to consider the following 

As you know, they all did not stay afterward. But we cannot just dispose of people as by the Labour Laws which we have to follow strictly, we have to give a warning, a written warning, have an inquiry and then let go. So what happens is that we have shorter contracts 

It is not only the Laws but if we start getting rid of people, it shall not give security to other staff. 

I feel that HA left in the way he did because we asked CJ to leave without notice. 

As for the Masters rules, the following were already 

doing the Masters 

RL 

JV 

JV had already completed 4 years - so he was grand-fathered in - in addition, RL had completed course work and only had research. 

After it was instituted, the following started the Masters

TB

MR

Did the Masters - TB after repeated advice to her - there too we did not immediately let her go. 

As for MR, he seemed to be clueless that he was violating our rules. 

(But that is true of half of our staff). 

What was more problematic was the plagiarization by MR and PL 

I came to believe that HA was also plagiarizing his thesis - on the strength of which we recruited him. 

In the end, MR alone remains. While he was doing his MA, we only gave him 3 day assignment. Now his MA is over - but we still do not have an alternative. 

This is because, we were stuck, for Data Collection and urgently in need. 

There are some skill sets on which we have a Need which we have not been able to fill over the years. 

1. English Writing 

2. Quantitative Analysis 

3. Secretary 

4. Social Media and Communication 

5. Physics 

We are managing OK for the present with

1. Data Collection (MR) 

2. IT (Twins)

3. Graphics (CG) 

Which we had trouble with in the past. 

As for IT, what happens in 3 months when the Twins leave? Recruiting DV was a 

- they want a part-time role - we have not been able to recruit so far. 

With the kind of short-term appointments, we can offer we are struggling to recruit as you know.  

If we are to deliver on our grant and other commitments, we have to manage with folks who have deficiencies in some way. We have to try to get folks to reform and try to encourage people to understanding. I don’t mind spending some time on helping folks improve as costly off my time as it is. 

Or alternatively, double our salaries and halve our staff and we can get staff who have good skills. And let go off people as soon as the grant is over.  This is how the other similar organizations operate. 

The organizational culture shall change then. We may seriously have to go to that model after the current grant ends. 

In the meantime, with myself leaving, we have to ask, is there a benefit in a particular person staying a bit longer or recruiting someone short-term when we are just unable to meet our obligations. 

Or as you may or may not know, I am covering up for the deficiencies of the staff  - even today, I am even covering up for the SIRC people today. 

This is the judgement as management - are we damaging the organization by not having delivery of results or in taxing a few of us unduly - in not capitalizing on work already done (in the case of SS) and not being able to document our scientific work (as in AA). 

This may damage us in the long term as folks are less likely to follow the rules they are used to violate and be unfair to people who could not sign on to Masters programs (on this we are not going to change our general guideline - since part-time MA at Peradeniya or other Universities really just downgrades people - I can see that ZY, MR, TB, JV work quality dropped and JV, AA themselves have told me they had been disappointed  ). 

We have not yet decided what to do  with AA and SS - we have not given any contracts or commitments. 

But for them and others, we can keep looking for replacements - if we do not find them, then we may be making the organization lose ability to keep any staff going forward.

Anyway, please see how to revise the R&G to account for these realities - so no one can say we are dishonest in the application of the R&G or similar.  

HIGHER EDUCATION. YOU CAN THINK OF HOW TO CHANGE IT. 

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Higher Education

Excellence in programmes such as part-time degrees is not compatible with excellence in work at FECT unless it is a based entirely on research conducted at FECT. It is not possible to excel in two full time roles at the same time. Such programmes also affect the flexibility of staff members to contribute.

Recently, we have had some damaging experiences with staff members, taking time off for higher education. These include lack of focus and distraction, the creeping expansion of demands for leave, tendency to leave soon after the degree even while promising to make up after.

In addition, many of the part-time or weekend degrees even at the best Universities in Sri Lanka are substandard in terms of quality in terms of skills. As one of our employees observed, the weekend masters syllabus and teaching and output for courses does not even measure up to what a student who does the "specialized 4 year degree" achieves. As Prof. Wickramagamage observed, for a researcher, it is better to get an internationally peer reviewed research paper onto one's record rather than one of these weekend masters.

Support for Higher Education

We have encouraged and supported staff members who want to pursue quality bachelors, masters and doctoral programs. Several have been afforded doctoral positions based on our support, masters programs in US, Canadian and South-East Asian Universities.

An exception shall be made for long-time staff members who have served FECT for 4 years well if for various reasons they are unable to go abroad.