- Target:
- Finance Directorate, QUB
- Region:
- United Kingdom
- Website:
- www.ucuqub.org
This petition is closed.
This petition relates to the introduction of a new online system for reclaiming staff expenses at Queen's University Belfast named QFIS. The system allows for pounds, dollars and euros to be entered and any required currency conversions to be made automatically. However it excludes all other currencies placing the onus on staff to make their own calculations and provide screenshots of each conversion. This places a significant additional burden on BAME and international staff working in many other countries outside of the EU and the US, affecting such staff disproportionately.
Such a practice is patently opposed to:
i. Principles of equality enshrined in the university own policies.
ii. Principles of global justice in which some nations and currencies carry disproportionate influence over others especially those of the global south in which the majority of the world's population may be found.
iii. Research in areas outside of the EU-US sphere.
BAME and International staff have objected to this practice and raised the matter internally. However the University Finance directorate has so far refused to review the system despite the matter being raised by I-rise (BAME and International staff group) and UCU.
.
To the Director of Finance, QUB
Dear Sir/Madam
We note that the online system for staff expenses, QFIS, allows us to enter pounds, US dollars and euros, in order to claim reimbursement. However, all other currencies require us to covert each item of expense separately into pounds sterling, and produce evidence thereof by way of screenshots.
This results in considerable additional work for staff, disproportionately, though not exclusively, affecting staff from non-western nationalities and backgrounds who tend to work in such places. BAME and international staff in particular who are poorly represented at QUB are obviously affected by this in an adverse way. The system implicitly signals that their research is out of line with and less acceptable than that of other colleagues.
We find this system to be inherently western-biased and discriminatory despite the proclaimed ambition of QUB to be globally connected. We would request that the system is urgently reviewed with regard to issues of equality and fairness.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
The Equality for BAME and International staff at QUB petition to Finance Directorate, QUB was written by Daniel Roberts and is in the category Employment at GoPetition.