What are we saying the threshold for a general strike is? The famous general strike in 1926 was 1.7 million workers (yes, smaller population, etc etc).
You know what shoutout to all the UCU members who are currently taking part in the marking boycott. The news coverage from what I see mostly focuses on the students rather than understanding the harsh working conditions and bad pay lecturers and other uni staff have to endure. I know that with my uni in particular, staff partaking in the boycott are suffering a significant paycut (more than would be lost from the hours they would have been working).
Here's a link to the union's website if you want to find out more
my university: "the effects of the MAB (Marking and Assessment Boycott) have been very unfortunate. However, instead of productively working with the union, we're offering counselling to students who want it. we think that this will be helpful, because if you think that we care more about protecting our bottom line than guaranteeing student or staff welfare then you MUST be insane."
University and College Union in the UK is on a nationwide strike today, tomorrow and next Wednesday (24th, 25th, 30th November) for disputes over pay, working conditions, and pensions.
I am a PhD student in the UK, who has now taught university seminars for 2 years. I also just started training to teach primary age (4-12) students at an after-school club (so not even their main place of education) and I've received better training in under a week than I did in those two years of HE teaching.
I'm partly sharing this to vent frustration, and partly to explain why the MAB currently going on in the UCU is so important to PhD student teachers.
examples/explanation under the cut
two examples-
university (and this session was run by the disability service): if a student comes to you and says they have adhd, tell them they're just stressed! it's the transition from high school to uni and they just want to be medicated by the americans
primary training: here are seven specific skills for supporting students through working out a problem, and how to practise using them, as well as up to date training on supporting SEN students
university training: you don't get paid enough to deal with safeguarding concerns, so we simply won't train you to even be aware of them!! If anything comes up just pass it along to your course lead
primary training: here's a comprehensive training module for signs of many different types of abuse and concerns you might have. it sucks that it exists, but it's important to be aware. here's what to do if someone discloses to you
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I recognise on that second one, young children are far more at risk of a wider range of types of abuse. However, the fact that we got absolutely no training for teaching at a university level is wild to me. It's not like you turn 18 and suddenly nobody will try to hurt you. We as tutors want to be safe for you. We want to be able to advocate for you, in the correct ways. But we simply aren't given the tools.
In terms of actually being able to live and teach, too, there are issues within HE institutions.
The primary teaching I do is paid, ultimately, better than the university teaching. I got around £50 per seminar, which included marking and prep. So, for every hour I taught, I was expected to do no more than 90 minutes combined prep and marking. I can tell you right now, marking 180+ assessments total took me much longer than that. I taught three classes a week for ten weeks (30 hours). I can guarantee you, my marking/prep took up more than 45. I also want to add: I was not paid for the training I did. I undertook around 20 hours of training (only 7.5 of which was compulsory! We are not trained well!) because I wanted to teach and I wanted to teach well, and I was not offered the means to live while I did it.
The primary training I am expected to do is paid. The teaching I do is paid. It's paid 'less' in theory, but overall it actually pays me more, because it pays consistently. I don't have to do anything I'm not paid to do - which as someone who has been woring in HE since 2021, is absolutely wild to me.
This kind of brings me to the MAB currently going on with UCU members. We want to work. We want to see our student succeed, and we want to give them an education that not only have they paid for, but that they deserve. We are not given the tools to do so. We are not given the means to live while doing so. The only reason I currently am not starving is because I have a partner who is willing to feed me meals other than pasta, rice, veggies (in various combinations) and a mother who is willing to help me out in obtaining the pasta, rice, and veggies.
The only way we can show the institutions they need us is by disrupting their existence. Without marking and assessments, they fumble. They compromise their ability to award degrees with integrity. They need us to allow them that. But if they want us, they have to pay us fairly, offer us stability, offer us the right tools. (I realise the training isn't even part of the dispute I'm just personally mad about it.)
Anyway if you made it to the end of my big rant, thank you for reading. I'm not about to reveal my identity, because I'm still very much a PhD student within a HE institution. But, thank you for reading.
Universities are docking lecturers’ entire pay for not marking a few exams
Academic staff face losing their entire month's pay over a marking and assessment boycott which will see them refuse a few hours' work.
“On 20 April, a national marking and assessment boycott began at 145 universities as part of a long running dispute over pay and conditions. The University and College Union (UCU) action will see staff cease all exam invigilation, the setting and marking of exams and essays, and processing of grades ...
“University staff taking part in this year’s marking and assessment boycott will still carry out the rest of their duties, which usually include teaching, research, supervision, and administration. Nevertheless at least 60 universities have threatened to deduct between 50 and 100% of the wages of staff taking part in the boycott.
“The University of Bristol is threatening to deduct 50% of the wages of staff taking part in the boycott, while reserving the right to escalate deductions to 100% should the boycott ‘significantly impact student experience’, a term staff believe is purposefully vague ...
“SOAS University, Middlesex University, University of Suffolk, Liverpool John Moores, University of Sheffield, University of Leeds, and University of Cardiff are among some of the universities threatening to deduct 100% of staff wages.”
