Why I don't feel that I can join in UCU strike action

[academicanon]

I joined the UCU this week and I completely understand reasons for strike action. I won't be striking however I will be taking action short of strike and refusing to cover striking colleagues' classes (resulting in a 25% pay reduction).

I won't be striking for two reasons:

1. I cannot afford to lose 14 days pay. I am in the process of buying my first home and without that pay my mortgage offer would be null and void. I do not have friends or family I can borrow money from. I'm a working class girl who's worked hard for 8 years to secure my first lectureship and purchase my first home. At this moment in my life every penny counts as is needed towards my house purchase.

2. I am still in the probationary period of my contract and my post won't be made permanent (if it will at all) for another year. I am not willing to breech my contract during this probationary period.

Having said that, I still feel deeply conflicted and highly anxious about having to cross the picket line over the 14 strike days. I feel the urge to share my reasons for not striking with colleagues but can't bring myself to and feel it's probably not appropriate. Although I wasn't in the union at the time of the vote, I feel somewhat hypocritical for standing aside while others take action.

Above all, I hope that a favourable agreement is reached swiftly.

I've penned my thoughts here as I didn't know where else to.

Thanks for reading

AA.

I agree with Tulip. I am not a union member at a university that is not affected anyway, but it is disheartening seeing staff on permanent jobs ( and who got them when it was much easier to do so) turn their backs again and again on non-permanent staff only to now have the audacity to demand support from them.

Many established academics turn a blind-eye to them because a) they can be used to get teaching cover for sabbaticals and b) they keep students in the system so long as they think there is the possible prospect of a FT job.

This is beyond ridiculous. This poster is not currently an academic but (apparently) consulting for universities and seems to have little idea how academia is currently working.

Most academics are drowning in teaching and administration, and pressures to get research income. They would absolutely love to get permanent jobs for academics in their own departments - their own research fields - but have little to no influence in doing so, as appointments are decided much higher up in the food chain. In many or most universities, permanent posts are approved above departmental level, at faculty or central university level.

Do academics support people being on short-term contracts just to cover sabbaticals? No - in many places sabbaticals are in any case dying out. People on short term contracts are often there to stop the teaching burden being absolutely unmanageable. What kind of choice is it for an academic - complain about the use of a short term contract appointment, and as a result add another 10 hours per week to their already full workloads?

Now in STEM many on fixed contracts work as postdocs. Again - do STEM workers want this - not particularly. But if your own job is reliant on getting postdocs, running a research group, there is not much that you can do about it.

For those who feel permanent academics should give more support to those without permanent contracts: what do you think we can actually do about it?

Most academics are drowning in teaching and administration, and pressures to get research income. They would absolutely love to get permanent jobs for academics in their own departments - their own research fields - but have little to no influence in doing so, as appointments are decided much higher up in the food chain. In many or most universities, permanent posts are approved above departmental level, at faculty or central university level.

Completely agree with this. My department has been begging the university's academic resourcing committee for a new post for years, with no joy. In fact, it wouldn't even be a new post, just a replacement for a colleague who retired. Meanwhile, every year another half dozen senior managers are added to the organisation on salaries over £100k, and the faculty adds more administrators to its roster, none of whom, oddly enough, are able to offer any tangible help with academic administration.

Yes, in UK universities around half of employees are not academics. A number of these are on very high salaries, doing "strategic" jobs that have no impact on the actual research and education of the university.

This is an enormous scandal, and one that seems to be missed by students/those who are angry about the cost of HE.

I think admin staff are also often treated quite shamefully. All this "efficiency drive" cuts the number of support staff, and a lot of them are horribly overworked. And the career progression is so bad - you have to leave your university/department to get promoted, so we end up in the situation of always never having experienced staff around who knows what's going on and can do things in half the time.

If admin staff want to demonstrate I would support them.

If senior management want to walk out I'll throw a party for us.

I totally agree Never and good administrators add so much value to the student experience, both directly and indirectly by allowing academics to focus more on teaching aspects.

This has been a really interesting thread to read. I wonder how people are feeling now we're a couple of weeks into the strikes?

I'm not a UCU member so I haven't been striking.

I'm not in UCU because I'm still reeling from the pension changes in 2011 (I think it was 2011) when the pension went from final salary to the readjusted scheme it is now and UCU basically did nothing about that.

I seem to remember there were a couple of days of strikes but nothing on the scale of this strike.

I'm the furious parent of a student who has been on the picket line with their lecturers and occupying their university in support of the UCU, faced with an intransigent (extremely highly paid) V-C who is not presently contemplating negotiating with their branch of the UCU.
Just wanted to say "Solidarity!" to all you strikers - as you are well aware, it is not only your own future, but that of your universities and future students, that you are trying to protect and improve by taking this action, and I thank you for it.

Sending you all hugs and solidarity!!!

I have 8 years in the USS pension from when I was a postdoc. I have since changed career and am no longer a member of the union. But I probably would not have participated in the strike due to not being on a part time fixed term contract with zero chance of becoming a permanent member of staff.

@user150463
For those who feel permanent academics should give more support to those without permanent contracts: what do you think we can actually do about it?

Errr strike?

There has been no call for strikes to support academics on temporary contracts.

Since temporary contracts are used globally in STEM fields - postdocs for several years are standard before getting a permanent position - I would be surprised if those in STEM fields could support a strike action that, for example, called for a complete ban of temporary contracts.

No I don't think that would work, was being a bit cheeky.

But there weren't even fixed term contracts for most teaching assistants at my uni - they were on zero contacts and paid by the hour.

They had a campaign asking only for proper fixed term contracts and salaries, and didn't seem to get much support.

My brain may be playing tricks on me, but I'm sure I remember that we struck a few years ago to support people on short-term contracts? The union had some crazy strategy of 2-hour walkouts and ASOS. It was not very effective because of this decision.