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You& #39;ll get nothing from me for the next 8 days except #UCUstrike. I& #39;ll explain why I and thousands of other university staff are striking here. Long thread, because there are a lot of grievances. /1
Universities are at breaking point after years of marketisation.
Many ppl think unis are great places to work. Not really.
We& #39;re overworked to the point of collapse. Academics work 2 unpaid days per week to cope with insane workloads. https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/8195/Workload-is-an-education-issue-UCU-workload-survey-report-2016/pdf/ucu_workloadsurvey_fullreport_jun16.pdf">https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/819... #UCUstrike /2
Many ppl think unis are great places to work. Not really.
We& #39;re overworked to the point of collapse. Academics work 2 unpaid days per week to cope with insane workloads. https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/8195/Workload-is-an-education-issue-UCU-workload-survey-report-2016/pdf/ucu_workloadsurvey_fullreport_jun16.pdf">https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/819... #UCUstrike /2
Uni staff referrals to occupational health and counselling are up 77% and 67% from 2009-15. https://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/HEPI-Pressure-Vessels-Occasional-Paper-20.pdf">https://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-conten...
43% of uni staff exhibit at least mild mental disorder https://theconversation.com/more-academics-and-students-have-mental-health-problems-than-ever-before-90339,">https://theconversation.com/more-acad... and stress is worse than for cops/ medics https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/half-uk-academics-suffer-stress-linked-mental-health-problems.">https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/half... #UCUstrike /3
43% of uni staff exhibit at least mild mental disorder https://theconversation.com/more-academics-and-students-have-mental-health-problems-than-ever-before-90339,">https://theconversation.com/more-acad... and stress is worse than for cops/ medics https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/half-uk-academics-suffer-stress-linked-mental-health-problems.">https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/half... #UCUstrike /3
At my uni
- 41% of staff say they have no reasonable workload control
- 43% can& #39;t strike decent work/life balance
- 64% say no effective policies to relieve workload pressures
- 44% witnessed bullying/ harassment just last year.
http://connected.qmul.ac.uk/media/connected/site-assets/documents/01-RAG-Report---Queen-Mary-University-of-London-Staff-Survey-2019.pdf
https://connected.qmul.ac.uk/media/con... href="https://www.twtext.com//hashtag/UCUstrike"> #UCUstrike /4
- 41% of staff say they have no reasonable workload control
- 43% can& #39;t strike decent work/life balance
- 64% say no effective policies to relieve workload pressures
- 44% witnessed bullying/ harassment just last year.
http://connected.qmul.ac.uk/media/connected/site-assets/documents/01-RAG-Report---Queen-Mary-University-of-London-Staff-Survey-2019.pdf
Why is it so bad? Uni leaders now run campuses like businesses. They cram students in to get more income; drive down staff costs to divert money to buildings; and impose ever more work to game external metrics/ league tables, to get even more money and growth.
#UCUstrike /5
#UCUstrike /5
At my uni, over last decade, student numbers rose 66% but academic staff rose only 33%.
At many unis, despite paying absurdly high fees, students face cramped seminar rooms & libraries & overworked, stressed staff with insufficient time to support them.
#UCUstrike /6
At many unis, despite paying absurdly high fees, students face cramped seminar rooms & libraries & overworked, stressed staff with insufficient time to support them.
#UCUstrike /6
This is a cause of profound distress to many academics. We are dedicated professionals, devoted to our students. It pains us that we don& #39;t have the resources to do our jobs properly. It also pains us that we have no choice but to disrupt our teaching for #UCUstrike. /7
A sign of the intensification of academic labour: at my uni, income per staff member increased 40% from 2008-18.
Meanwhile, our real-terms pay fell 21%. https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/10342/Value-of-university-staff-pay-has-plummeted-in-last-decade-employers-own-research-reveals
This">https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/1... is hyper-exploitation, pure and simple.
#UCUstrike /8
Meanwhile, our real-terms pay fell 21%. https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/10342/Value-of-university-staff-pay-has-plummeted-in-last-decade-employers-own-research-reveals
This">https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/1... is hyper-exploitation, pure and simple.
#UCUstrike /8
According to my rough calculations, the take-home hourly pay of a newly-minted university lecturer is just £10.44, taking into account how many hours they actually work per week.
https://medium.com/@drleejones/university-lecturers-make-just-10-44-per-hour-a029f6abc5ce
https://medium.com/@drleejon... href="https://www.twtext.com//hashtag/UCUstrike"> #UCUstrike /9
https://medium.com/@drleejones/university-lecturers-make-just-10-44-per-hour-a029f6abc5ce
Yet as staff pay fell 21% in real terms over last decade, our Principal& #39;s pay and perks package rose 32%, to £324,726 in 2017/18, when £2.2m also went on "key management personnel". http://www.finance.qmul.ac.uk/media/finance/financialstatements/Financial-statement-2017-18.pdf
Inequalities">https://www.finance.qmul.ac.uk/media/fin... seen in private sector now manifest in unis.
#UCUstrike /10
Inequalities">https://www.finance.qmul.ac.uk/media/fin... seen in private sector now manifest in unis.
#UCUstrike /10
And pay inequalities hit women and BAME colleagues hardest. At my uni, the gender pay gap is 14% and the BAME gap is 22%. http://hr.qmul.ac.uk/media/hr/forms/procedures/equality/docs/gender-pay-reporting-report/Queen-Mary-Gender-and-BAME-Pay-Gap-Report-2019.pdf
This">https://hr.qmul.ac.uk/media/hr/... is typical of higher education.
UCU wants action to address this, too.
#UCUstrike /11
This">https://hr.qmul.ac.uk/media/hr/... is typical of higher education.
UCU wants action to address this, too.
#UCUstrike /11
Meanwhile, more and more academics are employed on short-term, hourly paid or even "zero hours" contracts. Some of this is legit, but a lot of it& #39;s simply to expand unis on the cheap.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/nov/16/universities-accused-of-importing-sports-direct-model-for-lecturers-pay
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2... href="https://www.twtext.com//hashtag/UCUstrike"> #UCUstrike /12
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/nov/16/universities-accused-of-importing-sports-direct-model-for-lecturers-pay
Many young academics, w/ student debt & years of foregone earnings, now compete ferociously for short-term jobs where they& #39;re often ruthlessly exploited & can& #39;t do research work needed to get permanent jobs. It& #39;s grotesquely exploitative.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/nov/16/universities-accused-of-importing-sports-direct-model-for-lecturers-pay
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2... href="https://www.twtext.com//hashtag/UCUstrike"> #UCUstrike /13
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/nov/16/universities-accused-of-importing-sports-direct-model-for-lecturers-pay
On top of all this, our pensions have been cut 3 times in last 8yrs, costing the average lecturer £240k in retirement. Some will have only £150/wk to live on. https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/10433/FA_analysis_of_USS_benefits_and_contributions_September_2019/pdf/FAanalysisofUSSbenefitsandcontributionsSeptember2019">https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/104...
The old bargain was: crap pay but dignified retirement. Now that& #39;s going, too.
#UCUstrike /14
The old bargain was: crap pay but dignified retirement. Now that& #39;s going, too.
#UCUstrike /14
So what& #39;s the strike about? Everything. Pay, pensions, workloads, equality, casualisation.
It& #39;s about the dire realities of a failed experiment in marketising a public good.
We are trying to save universities, as well as ourselves.
#UCUstrike /15
It& #39;s about the dire realities of a failed experiment in marketising a public good.
We are trying to save universities, as well as ourselves.
#UCUstrike /15
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