Four years ago, the university approved of a take over by an external business of its repro shops and post offices. The number of prints being made at the university has declined sharply due to digitalization, making it difficult for the services to carry on.

Ricoh is taking over the repro shops and expanding them with a few service points and an online order portal. ‘This means more ease and flexibility for staff and students’, says the company. Ricoh has announced that digital mail provisions are also part of the plans. According to Tom de Witt Hamer, director of the University Services Department at the RUG, the print company is taking a weight off their shoulders and that this change fits well into the RUG’s strategy.

Reorganisation

The Graphics, Logistics and Documentary Information Service (DIV) departments of Administrative Information Services (AIV) have been reorganized the past few years. According to De Witt Hamer, a position was found for all employees: 17 of the 35 employees will go to Ricoh, and ten will remain in their current jobs to handle the remaining tasks. ‘Several employees have been given a different function. A number have been assigned to a specific project and an agreement has been made with those who are older than 62. These staff will no longer be transferred but will fall into staff secondment. Everyone has been given a place, but that does not mean that everyone was satisfied’, he says.

In a previous interview with the UK, the employees said that they felt powerless. ‘I have been through this kind of track a number of times now. I know exactly what that feels like for the people. It just feels like they are being fired. I can’t make it any rosier, and I understand it’, says De Witt Hamer. ‘You chose to work for a certain employer 25 years ago and now, without warning, it is decided that you have to go somewhere else. The employee doesn’t have a say when they’re in that position. The decision to outsource is made from the top, but you do have a responsibility to make sure that everyone has a new position. As a good employer, the RUG takes this very seriously and wants to ensure that everyone has a position, whether that is within or outside of the RUG.’

Ricoh will replace the 600 current printers and multi-functional devices with more energy efficient multi-functionals. In doing so, around 25,000 euros will be saved per year. ‘These savings are on top of the already realised savings of 700,000 euros per year for the last few years’, says the printer company.

Restaurants and canteens

Just like the repro shops and post offices, the RUG’s restaurants and canteens are also being outsourced and reorganized. De Witt Hamer, who is also the head of the department Food & Drinks, assumes at present that there will be no job losses.

The UK will be publishing an interview with Tom de Witt Hamer about the forthcoming reorganization.