‘This is why university staff across UK walk out today’
Today university academic staff in Wales will walk out as part of the biggest strike action ever at UK universities. Here Cardiff University senior lecturer Dr Andy Williams explains why he and tens of thousands of colleagues are reluctantly striking to s
TODAY, along with tens of thousands of university staff at 61 universities, I’ll be taking part in the biggest ever strike action to hit UK higher education.
I’ll be on strike for 14 days to prevent a historic attack on my pension: not teaching my students; not doing my research; not drawing a salary.
And this could be just the beginning.
If the vice-chancellors still refuse to negotiate, this could drag on into the summer, when our students will be hit even harder as exam periods and graduation looms.
Why would I disrupt my students learning like this? Why would I take such a knock to my pay packet? Because serious as they are, these things pale in significance next to the effects of proposed changes to our pension scheme, which will decimate the retirement incomes of thousands of staff.
Under the new system, lecturers will to lose between 40-60% a year in retirement, leaving many in pension poverty.
Personally, I’ll be losing about half of the pension I was promised when I signed up for this job. Junior staff on low wages and precarious contracts, who make up about a quarter of Cardiff Uni employees, will be hit the hardest.
This bitter row is all about changes that will see members of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) move from a “defined benefit” to a “defined contribution” pension.
This means that we’ll need to work long into old age, and no longer have certain income in retirement, since the amount we’ll get will depend on the vagaries of the stock market, and not how much we’ve earned and set aside.
These pension rules have been changed retrospectively, without consultation, and with no chance for many of us to make alternative arrangements.
It’s no surprise, then, that as well as being the biggest industrial action in the history of UK universities, it’s also got one of the biggest mandates: in Cardiff, almost 90% of union members voted in favour of striking off the back of an enormous turnout.
Since then, our branch recruited hundreds more members.
And it’s not just about our pay-packets; there’ll be knock-on effects for students and the system as a whole.
On the one hand, most lecturers genuinely love their jobs: has we like researching and discovering new things, and it’s a privilege to teach new generations of students.
On the other, university staff have become increasingly demoralised over the last decade.
The huge hikes in student fees and the “marketisation” of higher education, part, on goodwill and unpaid overtime. It’s also led to universities entering the “gig economy” in a big way, with more than two thirds of research staff on fixed-term contracts, big increases in precarious hourly-paid teachers, and almost half of universities employing teachers on zero-hours contracts.
Along with stagnating wages all of this has led to a very demoralised workforce.
UK universities are among the best in the world, but If our pay and working conditions continue to suffer, we just won’t be able to attract the best minds any more, and people will simply leave the profession.
Students witness the effects of all this first-hand, of course.
Like us, they see the changes to higher education inflicted by fees, and the mortgage-sized debts with which they leave university.
Like us, they see a growing student mental health crisis fuelled by the pressure of being forced to spend tens of thousands of pounds on an education.
And like us, they also see the huge amounts of cash being splashed by university managers on expensive new buildings, and the willingness of vice-chancellors to act like CEOs, awarding themselves increasinglymassive salaries and lavish expenses.
The employers say they can’t afford to keep decent pensions, but this is really about prioritising where money is spent.
That’s one of the most encouraging things about this campaign.
In the main, my students see how reluctant we are to take strike action, and they’re directing their anger and frustration at the university managers, not the lecturers.
Over 4,000 Cardiff students have signed a petition in support of their teachers, and are calling on Cardiff vice-chancellor Professor Colin Riordan to safeguard their education, and compensate “lost” tuition fees caused by the strike.
I’m heartened by the beginnings of a movement for change in universities where students and lecturers campaign together.
I’m also incredibly grateful for their support, and I hope they get the compensation they’re asking for.
But I’d prefer it if my employers decided to wise up, get back to meaningful negotiations, and allow us to call off this strike instead.
Dr Andy Williams is a senior lecturer in journalism, media and culture and a UCU member at Cardiff University.