News

Provost announces changes to staff performance appraisals for this year

- File from Daily Bulletin, January 4, 2022

"In light of recent concerns about the Omicron variant and the temporary return to remote working routines where possible in January 2022, we are introducing streamlining and flexibility in the performance appraisal process for this year," Vice-President, Academic & Provost James Rush wrote in a memo to staff and their managers just before the holiday break.

Following the membership’s acceptance of the new UWSA by-law and the subsequent changes to the UWSA governance, which moved the three UWSA Presidents (President-elect Agata Jagielska, President Dave McDougall, Past President Kathy Becker) into Operations roles, the UWSA Board of Directors found itself with three vacancies in its complement. The vacancies posed a significant challenge to normal Board activities and so, the Board appointed three UWSA members to fill the vacancies until the next election cycle in the fall of 2022.

33rd annual Winterfest

UWSA welcomed over 250 staff and their families at Columbia Icefield to this annual event. It was a marked increase in attendance over 2020's Winterfest, which had to be held in the CIF parking lot as a drive-by event. We did need to continue following COVID safety protocols this year, but being back inside CIF for skating, crafts and Santa was fabulous. 

Hosted by Mari-Beth Davis (Office of Advancement) and Donna Shin (CEE), 70 participants baked and decorated their own gingerbread cakes or cupcakes with cook

We are excited to welcome new additions to the UWSA Board of Directors as they bring their knowledge and skills to the table, while helping further the UWSA mission to represent the interests of UW Staff.

Stephen Markan, UWSA Chief Returning Officer presented the 2021 election report at the UWSA Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday, October 28, 2021.  The following candidates were successful in their bids for election:

Thank you for awarding me one of the $500 Staff Enhancement Grants – your selection has not only impacted me, but my fellow Red Raccoon Bike Rescue (RRBR) volunteers and the people we assist every day.

We held four Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) Consultations in June and July to give all UWaterloo staff the opportunity to attend and learn about the updated MOA. Over 300 UWaterloo staff participated in these sessions; our thanks to all of you for your attendance and engagement with this process so far.

A core element of the mandate of the University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA) is to protect the interests and welfare of our members.  

The University of Waterloo Staff Association (UWSA) is pleased to present the results of our April 2021 COVID Campus Climate Survey.  

On July 31st, 2020, we published the results of our first survey which shared a list of the top ten concerns of the staff who participated. The most pressing categories included workspace equipment/environment, working with family responsibilities, and workload. The results of the second survey can be found below.

As announced at our June 10 Area Reps meeting, the University of Waterloo Staff Association is excited to share that the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) committee has reached the agreement in principle stage with the University. This means that UWSA is now able to share the MOA draft (pdf) with staff.