Vancouver -[CUP] = -sThirtedn hundred clerical “and library workers at the University of B.C. will work to rule from now on to show the university their work can’t be done at the speed Ritchie and Associ- ates demands. The California-based man- agement consultant firm has been hired by UBC and the University of Victoria to make staff more cost-efficient. . The firm has been shadow- ing non*academic staff with stop-watches for about six months, and union officials say it’s causing stress- related illnesses. “Our workers know. their (time allocation) figures aren’t accurate, because they can’t work to that pace,”” said Ted Byrne, union official. for the Canadian University Em- ployees at UBC. ‘Because of budget cuts ‘th and employees who have re- tired, we believe people are working beyond capacity al-. ~ cessing centre, said the effect ready,’’ he said. The faculty association. re- cently passed a motion de- manding the administration reconsider the use of the consultants and ‘‘consider the _long term damage their activ- ities are causing to the morale of all the employees at the university.’ The faculty passed “the motion after learning of the ‘work conditions imposed on cleaning staff at the univers- ity. When the custodians report _ for work each morning they are issued a computer print- out which details their work for the day.. Each room they are assigned to clean is allot- ted a specific time in minutes and seconds. If they can’t meet the requirements they must explain why on. their own time. “’You go into a room and it’s a mess but the computer has only given you 50 seconds to clean it,’’ said one custo- dial employee, who would not give her name for fear of reprisals. “By the time you finish the sinks, time is up and you still have eight toilets to do.”’ ““Not one woman has got a hundred per cent-of the job done,’’ she said. According to a union offic- ial at UBC, the university has already. paid the firm $1.4 million and only one of the. original twelve contracts has been completed. Acting UBC president Robert Smith said ‘firm may be given addit- iona}.contracts as well. . Lynn Copeland, a librarian- analyst at UBC’s library pro- on staff in her department is “terrible’’. ‘The best staff are getting physically sick from the stress of dealing with these people,’’ she said, adding: some people are spending ¢ as little as’ one hour a day on- their regular work, devoting © the remaining time to. dealing with the consultants. Copeland said Ritchie and Associates has no previous © library experience and is ne- glecting the real requirements of a library. Neither university request- ed bids from other consulting firms before hiring Ritchie SEMINAR. THE YG. Srontaed by Eranccnscnscsccnensuseunnencouvcscssuscececeuccseuseeseuessacessennsosvensasensunecensscan: MARKETING E- COMPUTERS /N Wes Henderson Nov. /4™, /98S5 1&-30 -/ “SO sow f00M 3302, wweryone ¢s welcome { (Doveras Gortect flaene rine E.ve 60s acneeeuaccesenecscocensce™ and Associates. ’ Gellatly said he was_ not aware of other companies _with the same expertise, des- pite the presence of several management consulting as- sociations in Canada and the United States. Trevor Matthews, vice president administrator of UVic said Ritchie and Associ- ates came recommended by a number of companies whose names he couldn’t remember off hand. : Simon Fraser University is conducting an internal review which Ernie Scott, vice pres- ident finance, says will cost much less than the UBC and UVic reviews. In a September memo to the university community, Smith said, ‘‘Ritchie’s fees are a fixed amount’’ but added, ‘‘the contract also specifies that Ritchie guaran- tees the University will re- coup in the first year follow- ing the system installation, savings at least equal to their fees.’’ Gellatly said he is satisfied the contract will prevent the experts from recommending wholesale layoffs to keep their end of the bargain. The constitution of the As- sociation of Consulting Man- agement Engineers (ACME), the premier association of consulting groups, states members,’’ will not guarentee any specific result such as an amount of cost reduction or profit increase.’’ Ritchie and Associates do not belong to ACME. Larry Zamer, project chief for Ritchie, would not explain why they don’t belong, nor would he comment on the illnesses employees are ex- periencing. He said it is company policy not to discuss their business with the press. ‘Contraceptives for men? Ottawa [CUP] - A researcher at the University of Western Ontario is trying to develop an acceptable, non-toxic chemical contraceptive for men. A small molecule of 1,2,3, - trihydroxypropane (THP) in- jected into rats reduces sperm count by as much as 99 per cent and for as long as a year, says John Wiebe, a UWO zoology professor. Wiebe says the remaining sperm, while technically capable of fertiliz- ing an egg, are ‘‘nonviable. This suggests complete infer- tility.’’ Wiebe has not yet discover- ed how the substance works, but has found that a tiny injection in the testes of both rats and rabbits makes it impossible for sperm cells to develop, although other male maturation processes develop normally. In other words, it’s fatherhood, not manhood that’s affected, he said. Wiebe said he will test the substance on primates short- ly, but has yet to schedule experiments with human vol- unteers. While THP is non- toxic, Wiebe says he doesn’t yet know if the effects of the substance are reversible. “‘We don’t have the answer yet,’’ he said. Wiebe is one of the few researchers currently study- ‘ ing alternatives to female contraception. The federal government’s 75 per cent cut to the Canadian Committee on Fertility Research earlier this year indicates a lack of concern about improving con- traception for men, according to Lynne Robson, an execu- tive director of Planned Par- enthood, a national family planning and advocacy organ- ization. Robson said while contra- ception ‘‘used to be a male concern,’’ women’s aware- ness of reproduction swung the pendulum the other way. However, society now expects women to bear the burden of reproductive reponsibility, she said. While research on male contraception continues in several centres, the public will likely have to wait before other forms of safe birth control are available for men. ‘‘To date there is no effective chemical male contracept- ive,’’ Wiebe said. ‘Well, mustard gas is ef- fective, but it would kill you. It must also be acceptable,’’ he said. S.A. BOYCOT! Ottawa [CUP] - The Carleton University student council voted in mid-October to boy- cott South African products, even though they claim none are presently sold in the council businesses. The vote came after a successful lobby by the cam- pus anti-apartheid group, which also intends to launch a campus-wide petition on uni- versity divestment. ‘‘The product boycott is the least of it,’’ said Paul Gross of the Carleton Anti-Apart- heid Action group. ‘‘We’re more concerned about public awareness and we wanted to start with (the council’s) help.’” The boycott does not in- clude beer brewed by Carling O’Keefe because of an On- tario law which requires licen- sed facilities to serve brands most frequently requested. According to Martin Doyle, assistant director of housing and food service at Carleton, Carling O’Keefe’s Miller beer is the second most popular brand.