Ex Chief Exec - Dave Clark

[Infiltrator]

 

 

Keep this clean people. Very tiresome to read!

 

Tiresome for a moderator maybe

[m.stewart]

Theres a guy staying near me in the posh part of Lerwick who looks like the new Chief Exec. I would describe him as a younger version of Clint Eastwood.

He has been very courteous and polite to me and my neighbours. Is that him? Should we be scared?

[Infiltrator]

Latest twist, missing the point somewhat. The local bush telegraph is light years ahead of this internet thing.

 

http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/2009/December/news/SIC%20blocks%20Shetlink.htm

[JohanofNess]

 

 

Keep this clean people. Very tiresome to read!

 

Tiresome for a moderator maybe

 

Tiresome for some of us who aren't moderators as well

[unlinkedstudent]

Latest twist, missing the point somewhat. The local bush telegraph is light years ahead of this internet thing.

 

http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/2009/December/news/SIC%20blocks%20Shetlink.htm

 

Oooh errr - what does the big cheese reckon he gonna do those regarding those SIC employees who work from home then?

[Spinner72]

If employees are working from home they should be working not browsing personal sites surely

 

It's strange isn't it. This is being portrayed as the CE doing something wrong. Expecting people to work during work time.

 

I can only speak for myself, but I want to see a CE in place who carries out the instructions given to him by the council competently, efficiently and within the constraints of any and all rules applicable. He is after all, by his own definition, "just an employee", and it is his job to do as he is told by the council.

 

He's there to advise, to facilitate the provision of advice, warn and inform of issues or potential issues arising, but to ultimately facilitate that the instructions given to him by the council, regardless of his own personal views of them, are carried out competently, efficiently and within any enforcable constrictions.

 

I think this is where the problem lies. Councillors have, and continue to, ignore regulations, budgets, etc when it really comes down to brass tacks.

 

IMO a CE who does not stick up for his workforce, and for what is, at its most basic, right, is pointless. Why not just send the work orders direct to the service heads then?

 

Lets remember the facts and not the fantasies regarding the CE's only decision ever mentioned here, the Shannon post deletion. This was done following consultation with senior councillors, and has been backed by many (Including his oft nemisis Cllr Wills) - hardly "going against the grain".

[TeeAyBee]

Latest twist, missing the point somewhat. The local bush telegraph is light years ahead of this internet thing.

 

http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/2009/December/news/SIC%20blocks%20Shetlink.htm

 

Oooh errr - what does the big cheese reckon he gonna do those regarding those SIC employees who work from home then?

 

They access SIC data via a VPN which routes all web traffic via the filters. It is against SIC policy to connect council provided laptops etc to the internet wihout using the VPN.

[Mogman]

Latest twist, missing the point somewhat. The local bush telegraph is light years ahead of this internet thing.

 

http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/2009/December/news/SIC%20blocks%20Shetlink.htm

I know, for a fact, that The Shetland News was already well aware of the SIC having set up a restriction on visiting Shetlink

 

However, Hans Marter (editor of The Shetland News) would not want to publish such a story without giving both sides the opportunity to respond and comment.

 

That is why the story was only published this afternoon.

[unlinkedstudent]

If employees are working from home they should be working not browsing personal sites surely

 

It's strange isn't it. This is being portrayed as the CE doing something wrong. Expecting people to work during work time.

 

I'm not sure Spinner if your post was aimed at my response given that it followed immediately on from mine, but I respond below.

 

I do expect people to work during work time; however, lunch time is not work time.

 

I was not aware that the Council provides employees with laptops (ta for that information) for those working from home and was merely wondering how blocking said "homework" employees would work, given that they may be using their own computers for work, etc.

 

However, I think certain members of staff should be allowed access to Shetlink throughout the working day - research purposes, etc.

[paulb]

what a slanderous statement implying that sic employees work. shocking.

 

i am sure that the vast majority of workers are way to busy to even look at a computer let alone shetlink.

 

i wonder if the CE would have just popped into this highly exciting meeting if the last 40+ pages had been in praise of him.

 

he knows about the site and he is not happy. so he reacts in his normal way. a reminder that use of council computers was for council work only would have been enough.

 

he really does not know howto do something with out appearing bad. i would give politics a miss. or get a good press person.

[JAStewart]

Council employees: Use a proxy server.

[Acillat]

 

i wonder if the CE would have just popped into this highly exciting meeting if the last 40+ pages had been in praise of him.

 

 

quote]

 

Just what I was thinking.

[TeeAyBee]

Further to the 'blocking' of Shetlink reported on the Shetland News website http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/2009/December/news/SIC%20blocks%20Shetlink.htm the reasoning according to the Chief Executive as reported by Shetland News is incorrect.

 

He said the move was to avoid people wasting time and to prevent any legal issues arising from comments made by SIC staff which could not be attributed to an individual.

 

Also from the same source:

 

Thursday’s meeting discussed reducing the period when some of the sites, such as anonymous forums, were blocked. The new policy under single status with its flexible working arrangements will be to only block sites between 10am and noon, and between 2pm and 4pm.

 

It is the responsibility of the individual staff members to execute their contracted duties and that of their line managers to monitor performance and so deliver the services of the Council to the public. The written policy says nothing of ensuring staff avoid wasting time, but it does say something about the legality of postings, emails and general computer use. Documents from the SIC public website http://www.shetland.gov.uk/coins/submissiondocuments.asp?submissionid=7392 found by searching system using the committee "Shetland Islands Council" and the keywords "ICT Security Policy" and the exact phrase tick box selected. I refer to the appendix document listed which contains the policy document itself.

 

You are granted usage of the internet and email services, but you must not use these systems to break the law, break Council policy or in any way cause distress, harassment or harm to anyone.

 

Further:

 

Employees may use Council facilities to access non-work related Internet sites within reason, during breaks, lunch-hours and before and after the working day. If accessing non-work related sites during breaks, these should not be left open during work time. E.g. news, sports results, etc. Employees must not access these types of sites during the time they are expected to be concentrating on their Council work.

 

And as for the Council being at risk from staff accessing the internet and making potentially actionable postings which are unattributable to users, then:

 

The ICT Unit operates an Internet logging facility in order to monitor Internet connections. This automatically logs site addresses, user identifications and data transfer and is monitored by ICT Unit staff on a weekly basis. The purpose of this is to provide further protection for the Council by allowing ICT staff to identify excessive data transfer and use of Internet facilities during work-time.

 

While there is an element of truth in that there is an unwritten policy to block social networking sites and anonymous forums and Shetlink managed to remain uncategorised as such, the reasoning is flawed and the fact that the site is supposedly available via the Council's network 'out of hours' makes a nonsense of the alleged legal/security risk. Yes I agree that in working hours staff should be concentrating on their work, however, adequate provision through the written policies adopted by full council has already been made. I accept that policies should be reviewed on a regular basis, and particularly those that pertain to the ever changing ICT world, however, this is a bit of a coincidence, particularly as the Chief Executive himself brought up the issue of Shetlink, a site that doesn't seem to have concerned previous administrations despite a number of negative postings about the Chief Executive, his family and their business dealings, nor has it bothered the rest of the current senior management.

[Guest Anonymous]

If you are at work and getting paid then quite frankly it is theft to spend time doing something other than your work.

But if the council were to enforce that principle then they would have to sack 99% of the staff.

Maybe they should and it might just get the outrageous spending under control.

but I won't hold my breath

[paulb]

rona dont give them ideas they may start to do things.