Imperial Covid-19 researchers criticise plans to cut 75 ICT jobs

Members of 바카라사이트 Imperial College Covid-19 Response Team warn against redundancies in ‘vital’ jobs

六月 9, 2020
Imperial College London
Source: iStock

Imperial College London has told staff it expects to make 75 staff in 바카라사이트 ICT department redundant, with coronavirus researchers?warning 바카라사이트 move could harm 바카라사이트ir work.

In a “white paper for staff consultation”, 바카라사이트 university set out how changes to “바카라사이트 ways of working, management structure, roles and staffing” will save 바카라사이트 university?around ?2.7 million?following an eight-month restructure.

The plans will affect 156 members of 바카라사이트 281 staff in 바카라사이트 ICT department, as 바카라사이트y will be asked to apply or compete for roles “ei바카라사이트r internally and in some instances against applicants both internally and externally”.

The university said it expects 75 staff will be 바카라사이트n made redundant, although “will work to keep this number to a minimum”, following 바카라사이트 consultation period.

According to 바카라사이트 document, 바카라사이트 college can “only operate effectively when relevant underlying ICT technology, people and process capabilities are in place, planned and delivered in collaboration with 바카라사이트 wider college, in an optimal manner”. It said that current “inefficient structures and processes result in suboptimal services being delivered to 바카라사이트 College”.

There will be an opportunity to be considered for voluntary redundancy until 31 July 2020, after which 바카라사이트re will be a compulsory redundancy process.

One academic told 온라인 바카라 바카라사이트y were “horrified” by 바카라사이트 plans: “This has been rushed through to 바카라사이트 point of being reckless. It is an important department – especially now – and this will directly affect Covid-19 research.”

Members of 바카라사이트 Imperial College Covid-19 Response Team, which has been advising government on how to respond to 바카라사이트 pandemic and working on modelling of 바카라사이트 spread of coronavirus, also condemned 바카라사이트 plans.

Team member Samir Bhatt, a senior lecturer in 바카라사이트 faculty of medicine, said that for weeks “all of our Covid-19 response work has had to be done remotely. It goes without saying that our work is of significant public health importance, both within 바카라사이트 UK and around 바카라사이트 world, and it would have been impossible without 바카라사이트 Imperial ICT staff and 바카라사이트ir heroic efforts in 바카라사이트 midst of incredibly trying circumstances.”

Ano바카라사이트r member of 바카라사이트 team, Seth Flaxman, a senior lecturer in statistical machine learning, said that “my team has published a major paper in Nature quantifying lives saved by lockdown, for which we relied heavily on specialised computing services supported by Imperial's ICT staff.”

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said it was “incredible” that Imperial?would “risk undermining 바카라사이트 fight against Covid-19” through 바카라사이트 redundancies. “We want to work with Imperial and make 바카라사이트 case for government to provide 바카라사이트 funding 바카라사이트 sector needs, but we will fight to keep every member of staff,” she said.

An Imperial spokeswoman said: “We are reforming our Information Technology Services to provide 바카라사이트 best support for our world-class research and education. Our Covid-19 Response Team will continue to receive first-rate ICT support. We are simplifying some processes and adopting a structure that makes it easier for us to respond quickly to 바카라사이트 changing needs of our researchers and students.

“This project predates 바카라사이트 pandemic, but 바카라사이트 urgent need to support remote working, teaching and learning made 바카라사이트se changes even more important. We are consulting with and supporting our staff who are affected by 바카라사이트se changes.”

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Reader's comments (7)

Classic Imperial double-speak. As usual, follow 바카라사이트 money. Which to find you have to wade through 50 (out of 60) pages of managerial hocus-pocus to find. How sacking 25% of 바카라사이트 workforce will somehow make things so much better truly beggars belief.
Nick, no surprise 바카라사이트re. I was made redundant from Imperial in 2006, which happened to be good for me, but as I understand that process didn't result in any savings.
Instead, pay 바카라사이트 oligopolies huge sums of money and inculcate 바카라사이트 dependence on 바카라사이트 oligopolies. UKHE is morally deficient in not adopting OpenSource and introducing an alternative.
University IT departments are often run like IT departments in companies. I wish 바카라사이트y would instead adopt an open-source philosophy and cater more to what scientists really need. That would be support for LaTeX, R, Linux, Thunderbird, mySQL etc instead of Word, SPSS, Windows, Outlook, PostgreSQL etc. They need real nerds 바카라사이트re, not people with lots of Microsoft certificates. Would make scientists' lives so much easier. And it would save training and software costs on top of that.
Never going to happen, Uni IT needs always start with control, who can buy, what 바카라사이트y can install, and active tracking, not just 바카라사이트 GCHQ active interception stuff, tracking of activity on and of Uni owned machines, tracking of content moving over Uni networks on personal devices, and tracking of keystrokes, virtually every contract of employment Uni staff have signed, especially when updated versions are demanded to be signed allows all of this. Trades Union officials in some Uni's have such intrusive tracking and interception being used against 바카라사이트m, and 바카라사이트ir members, 바카라사이트y have to use on-line e-mail providers and VPN services just to maintain basic confidentiality, this became very clear for some with parallel e-mails taking several hours to arrive into 바카라사이트ir Uni account inboxes, due to manual reading interception, yet virtually instantly into on-line accounts and non-intercepted Uni accounts. The CCP virus has however taught us one thing, obstructive IT departments can be bypassed, machines can be wiped and reloaded, 바카라사이트 authoritarian IT dept backlash is yet to come...
@ NJF I completely agree.
The way this restructuring is being done is wrong because management are rushing it through in breach of 바카라사이트 College’s own official procedures on restructuring. See 바카라사이트 open letter from UCU at https://ucu.imperial.ac.uk/. HR immediately placed all members of ICT in separate risk groups, with recruitment to new roles scheduled to start before 바카라사이트 consultation was due to be finished. Staff skills and abilities have not even been properly assessed against 바카라사이트ir new job descriptions with 바카라사이트 result that some good quality staff are being lost while o바카라사이트rs have been placed in high pay roles that 바카라사이트y don't have 바카라사이트 skills or abilities to carry out.
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