December looks set to be a month of misery as rail workers, Royal Mail employees, nurses, ambulance staff, fire fighters, bus drivers, security staff, schoolteachers and university lecturers have all taken strike action. For many in the UK, a year of rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis has reignited industrial action.
With the aftermath of the pandemic looming over our economy, a war being fought in eastern Europe, and industrial action taking place across the UK, it’s fair to say that public consensus is a little downbeat this winter.
The cost-of-living crisis has stoked the fire in many different industries, that have not seen pay rises increase with the rate of inflation. Higher education is one of these industries. The reasons for industrial action are complex and the UK press is often reporting on the inconvenience of striking, rather than the motives behind it.
National university strikes have taken place on the 24th, 25th and 30th of November. It is currently unclear if more strikes will go ahead before the new year.
Why are university staff and lecturers going on strike?
The University and College Union’s (UCU) campaign is focused on four key areas, which the Union has labelled the ‘Four Fights’:
- Pay
- Workloads
- Casualisation
- Pay inequality
The UCU is the largest trade union and professional association for academics in the UK and represents over 120,000 lecturers. UCU members, at 145 institutions, have voted to take industrial action over the four areas listed above. Each issue is complex and will, no doubt, take time to negotiate with the Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association (UCEA).
1.Pay
The issue that has garnered the most media attention is over lecturers’ pay. According to figures released by the UCU, staff have already had an effective 28.2% cut in pay since 2009, as their pay has not risen with the rate of inflation. The figures also state that 42% of academics surveyed are struggling to pay bills, 71% of staff state their mental health has been affected as a result of lower pay/ financial constraints, and 43% state that their physical health and wellbeing has suffered as a result.
Pip Sutton, the UCU Branch Chair for the University of Portsmouth, said: “Since 2009 we have effectively had a 28.2% pay cut, at a time when vice chancellors and senior leaders are paid in excess of the rate of inflation.
“There are some junior lecturers and colleagues of mine who are using food banks because the money they earn is all spent on rent or family.”
Martin Giddey, a Senior Lecturer in social policy who retired in 2009, added that the cut in pay reflects the fact that employers and the government do not value the contributions that people make to teaching and researching.
Mr Giddey said: “There are quite obvious double standards and hypocrisy taking place within the higher education sector. Vice chancellors are telling lecturers they can’t afford to pay them more, whilst paying themselves inflation busting pay settlements.”
But can the sector afford the pay rises that the UCU is asking for?
Mrs Sutton’s response was a categorical yes. She added: “Higher education sector income in 2019 to 2020 was £42.4bn but it made a surplus (underspend) of £3.4bn. We are asking for £1bn in pay rises.
“Vice chancellor remuneration has shot up in the last 10 years, irrespective of conditions and pay for other staff, despite the fact that vice chancellors are effectively public servants, funded by student fees.
“We are asking to have enough money to live in line with the rate of inflation, and it seems only fair and reasonable to do so, given the sector has the money. This is only a fraction of the pay we should have received if it had been properly linked to inflation.”
When asked about this in an interview for the Guardian, Raj Jethwa, the UCEA’s chief executive, said that the UCU’s demand for a 13.6% pay increase was “unrealistic” and would cost institutions in the region of £1.5bn. The UCEA declined to give comment on this article.
2.Workloads and burnout
Unmanageable workloads are the second of the UCU’s ‘Four Fights’. Staff regularly working well in excess of their contractual hours has been recognised as a sector wide issue. The UCU workload survey shows that on average academic staff work 51.3 hrs a week, despite being contracted to work 35–37.5 hours a week. Research by the charity, Education Support, shows high workloads have a significant impact on mental wellbeing.
A senior lecturer at the University of Portsmouth, who wished to remain anonymous, said that unmanageable workloads have become a pervasive problem and that many universities need to assess what can reasonably be achieved in a 35 hour week.
He added: “I have always felt as if I’m working two jobs. Teaching, and everything that comes with that such as meetings, marking, curriculum development, planning and delivering lectures. Then I also have my research, which requires time to conduct, ethics processes, writing up and disseminating my work.
“The amount of additional labour required per week is just ridiculous, but it also has a big impact on mental health across the sector. There are shockingly high levels of staff who have sought out support through their workplace or the NHS.
“There have been certain points in my career that have been incredibly challenging to manage and have had an impact on my well-being. During my first year in this role, I was using holiday as time to conduct research, so for me it is something I feel deeply passionate about.”
3.Casualisation
Casualisation refers to the increasing practice by universities to hire staff on zero hour or part time contacts. Only 33% of all higher education staff are employed on full time contracts.
A senior lecturer at the University of Portsmouth (mentioned above), added: “There is a generation of PhD students, who graduated at the same time as me, moving from short-term to other short-term contracts, requiring them to move across the country, which has massive implications on their personal lives, particularly those wanting to start a family. But it also stops them progressing in terms of salary progression, research development and not being able to develop their career.
“For universities this saves them money. They don’t have to pay staff during the summer break. They don’t have to pay long-term permanent staff, who are entitled to salary increases, as they progress. So, the incentive for universities is that casualisation is a much cheaper option.”
Mrs Sutton added that these academics have accumulated debt, whilst achieving their qualifications, who are then rewarded with zero-hour contracts and are, therefore, being exploited. She said to treat people who have worked hard to achieve masters and doctorates in this way is “insulting.”
4.Pay inequality
Reports by the UCU also show the sector has questions to answer relating to equality. The report found that university staff from an ethnic minority background are paid on average, 17% less than staff from non-ethnic minority backgrounds. Similarly, disabled staff are, on average, paid 9% less than non-disabled staff and, on average, females are paid 16% less than males.
Mrs Sutton said: “At the current rate, it will take almost 22 years to narrow these pay gaps. We have got a problem here.”
Could lecturers face repercussions at work for striking?
Retired Senior Lecturer, Mr Giddey, said that he could speak freely about his involvement in the UCU’s campaign, as he felt no pressure from upper management to not speak out publicly.
Striking staff at Queen Mary University of London were threatened with having all pay docked indefinitely, unless they made up for the learning that was missed due to industrial action. Lecturers from Queen Mary University have reported a culture of gaslighting and bullying from upper management.
A senior lecturer at the University of Portsmouth (mentioned above), said that the management at Portsmouth have been as close to supportive of the action as they can and praised Vice Chancellor, Graham Galbraith, for visiting the picket lines and listening to those taking part.
What about the impact on students?
Dr Jo Grady, the UCU General Secretary, has stated that students’ learning conditions are the same as staff working conditions. Unmanageable workloads and demotivated staff will only be reflected in student grades and achievement. This sentiment has been echoed by the National Union of Students, which stated that students and staff must stand together to fight the conditions in which lecturers are being forced to work.