To think if you're on strike you shouldn't get paid?

[ClaraLaraLaLa]

www.theguardian.com/education/2018/mar/02/uk-universities-threaten-punish-striking-staff-cancelled-lectures

I'm strongly in favour of the right to strike etc, I have participated in strikes myself before, for which I was docked a day's pay, as I expected.

Surely part of the point of going on strike it to show that you feel so strongly about the issue that you are prepared to forgo a day's pay in order to make your point?

That's why I am striking: because I want there to BE a university in years to come, I don't want all the best colleagues leaving for abroad or taking up other jobs, I want students to know that staff are proud to teach them! I am bloody proud of my students!

Spoken like someone who cares I want my university to exist in years to come, too.

OP you have very little understanding of the history of workers’ rights. Educate yourself.

They should teach it in schools. But they don't. For some reason...

However there re enough entertaining, funny, short, easy to watch films and series that include striking workers to start those who don't understand why. May I suggest:

Made in Dagenham
Pride
North and South
Brassed Off
The Fight in the Fields

And have a little think about what happens when there are underpaid workers, no EU to appeal to, zero hours contracts, rapidly increasing housing costs and food, and no right to organize and strike. The Muppet Christmas Carol can show you that

I don't have an issue with it. Strikers should not be paid while they are on strike, this is a given and most accept it, but they should also be made to pay for other losses their employer suffers.

If a factory shuts down for a day because the workers are on strike, the strikers lose their day's pay. But the factory might not just lose a day of production - specialist equipment (eg a tightly-regulated furnace) might take days to restart once shut down, for example.

It's only fair that the strikers compensate their employer, or at least contribute to making amends.

Chelle, during my 20 years with the university, management have broken their agreement with me in multiple ways.

While senior management are on astronomical salaries they have cut the number of teaching staff to the point where I am forced to work a fulltime week for a 0.5 salary simply in order to keep my courses and research (which I am contractually obliged to do) afloat. Nobody at the time asked if I was all right with that: they just assumed.

Now management have just informed me that working according to my contracted hours (so 2 1/2 day a week) is considered as partial performance and is to be penalised by pay cuts in the future.

My fulltime working colleagues work all weekends to meet the requirements in terms of open days, extra activities etc that are piled on them by the university. Not in the contract, but the more staff they get rid of, the fewer there will be to share the load.

The one thing that seemed secure was our pensions. And now those are threatened too.

Mental health problems are on the increase at university, stress related disorders are on the increase.

As far as I can see, the "factory owners" are breaking very valuable equipment, aka as staff, by running it longer and faster than it was designed for. This is going to cost both them and the students in the end.

We have tried to raise this through all available channels and have not been listened to. What do you suggest we should do?

Remember, every time your child attends an Open Day, every time they send for a prospectus, every time they have a telephone interview with academic staff - that work was the result of somebody working unpaid overtime. They cannot ask for compensation in terms of a lighter teaching load, they cannot ask for their research load to be lightened: many universities won't even provide a sandwich for staff who come in to do whole weekends, let alone travelling expenses. And certainly no overtime.

Solidarity corythatwas I think we work at the same uni. See you on the picket next week.

Do you Walk With Dinosaurs, Obvious? If so- see you on the picket!

These threats of further pay docking is a clear demonstration of how UK universities rely on academic staff constantly working over and above their contracts for free. University contracts are a joke and the workload models are a joke. In pretty much any other job the expectation of of constantly working evenings and weekends for a comparatively modest salary (and a low salary for temporary and sessional staff!) would have been unheard of. I imagine that when you work in McDonalds and are contracted to work 9-5, nobody expects you to also work 5-8 for free. But this is an expectation in academia. Hence we get to the situation were "working to contract" is regarded as partial performance. Monumental disgrace.

Indeed I do, Cory. And what an awesome dinosaur it is too.

The problem is not with partial performance: the problem is that working to contract is considered partial performance.

This. for full-time staff as well as part-time.

As for fulltime staff, I don't know how they manage to stay alive.

he hasnt chosen this route the unions have

Presumably he’s a member of the UCU and exercised his vote? A union is made up of its members, and they determine policy. The University of Birmingham isn’t striking because the ballot there didn’t give them the go ahead.

I voted for action short of a strike but to be

@corythatwas sometimes I wonder. I have very little life outside my work. Luckily, like you, I love my real work -research and teaching- and that is still enough to keep me going through all the other shit.

I may come to regret this when I become an old lady bed blocker with no family to look after me, but it’s the sacrifice that many women make in this career.

They are already losing pay for the days they are on strike!!

Some universities want staff to do unpaid overtime to make up for strike days and are threatening to deducy pay if they don't. It's bloody outrageous.

More fucking lazy reporting to get people whining about people who stand up for their terms and conditions (usually so that people will say but X have it worse as if the shitty treatment of other workers should prevent others from standing up for their terms and conditions).

When they start coming after occupational maternity pay etc we should all just roll over because some people only get statutory should we? No. We should be campaigning for all workers to have decent rights and pay and conditions.

I often think the same @TheRagingGirl. Given I’m the childless spinster, apparently married to my work.... I’m senior professional services and regularly do a 60 hour week. The level of goodwill isn’t sustainable - and this assault on our pensions just makes me want to go ‘meh’, and do my 9-5, Mon-Fri. Then I think of how it would affect the students, and don’t... and I’m just one person in all of this.

Then I think of how it would affect the students, and don’t... and I’m just one person in all of this.
It's the same reason most teachers don't work to rule.
It would be the kids that suffer.
Much as i would like to hope we'd have parental support in our campaigns for better funded education systems, appropriate pensions, kids not having endleas exam changes, the right to a qualified teacher etc, a sizable minority of parents would just blame us for being feckless lazy gits with long holidays who are failing to do our jobs properly. I mean Timmy (who's been a lazy PITA for 5 years & enabled by home) really should have an extra 6 hours essentially private tuition for free each week. It's not unpaid overtime and extra stuff staff don't have to do, obviously there should be a bottomless pit of free tuition for Timmy. Anything less would be staff failing Timmy.

reddington let me guess, your heros are Norman Tebbit and Thatcher.

I’ve just re-read my post - I want to clarify I am absolutely in support of colleagues striking and taking action short of a strike. I’d do it myself if I could at my institution....
I was just trying to elucidate how we all work way more than we should, which is the only thing that keeps the wheels turning. I don’t think it’s the way it should be, though - and the wheels will fall off at some point; whether it’s through a change in culture, or through people breaking (which I think is the most likely, sadly.)

Creambun2

There are worst hero's.

Worse even.

It's only fair that the strikers compensate their employer, or at least contribute to making amends

The employer is compensated by not paying them for that day.

@theraginggirl - Fellow academic here - I could have written your most recent post myself.

This is like having the right to go to an industrial tribunal, then finding out it costs £1,200 to go to an industrial tribunal.