University lecturers strikes

rentaghost

Striker
Bit of a moral dilemma here and I was interested in peoples thoughts. My daughter is doing her degree at Lancaster University and in her final year. Tuition fees 9,250 per year and she has really enjoyed her time at uni but it has been littered with lecturer strikes. I don't know that much about how worthy their cause is but I understand it is to do with a negative impact to their pay and conditions/pensions at a time when universities are getting loads of money. Anyway my daughter and hundreds of thousands of other students have had their studies effected a lot and their next planned strike is likely to be the longest and will last weeks right up to the time when my daughter submits her final work for her degree. In short she will have paid the neck end of £30,000 in tuition fees, missed loads of weeks of tuition and the biggest impact right at the end of her final year which is bound to impact on her grade and maybe her chances in life.

Should I be angry or understanding? If angry who at, the universities or the striking lecturers? If I (or my daughter) complains who should I complain to? Does this impact on anyone else on here?
 


If the strike is before her hand in date she'll not be going to many lectures anyway. Does it have much of a direct impact on her?

Support those who are striking. Solidarity with the workers.
 
If the strike is before her hand in date she'll not be going to many lectures anyway. Does it have much of a direct impact on her?

Support those who are striking. Solidarity with the workers.

I've just found out about it so need to here more. She does Theatre and i believe the strikes will take place in the run up to her final performance. I think her dissertation will be OK for the reasons you said. The issue may not be with the lecturers but with the uni who are getting 30k in tuition fees off every student and not providing them with the tuition they are paying for. Surely someone should be accountable?
 
Daughter goes to Durham and I don't think they even do 30 weeks in a year.. 8 hours contact time a week this year for lectures etc..

Crazy.. they have all become.rackets... you pay night on 5k for accommodation.. you think that's not too bad ..£100 a week .then you go hang on.. it's for 34 bloody weeks
 
Daughter goes to Durham and I don't think they even do 30 weeks in a year.. 8 hours contact time a week this year for lectures etc..

Crazy.. they have all become.rackets... you pay night on 5k for accommodation.. you think that's not too bad ..£100 a week .then you go hang on.. it's for 34 bloody weeks

Aye but she'll get on a graduate scheme somewhere down the line with no idea of what she is doing, jobs a goodun, result.
 
Bit of a moral dilemma here and I was interested in peoples thoughts. My daughter is doing her degree at Lancaster University and in her final year. Tuition fees 9,250 per year and she has really enjoyed her time at uni but it has been littered with lecturer strikes. I don't know that much about how worthy their cause is but I understand it is to do with a negative impact to their pay and conditions/pensions at a time when universities are getting loads of money. Anyway my daughter and hundreds of thousands of other students have had their studies effected a lot and their next planned strike is likely to be the longest and will last weeks right up to the time when my daughter submits her final work for her degree. In short she will have paid the neck end of £30,000 in tuition fees, missed loads of weeks of tuition and the biggest impact right at the end of her final year which is bound to impact on her grade and maybe her chances in life.

Should I be angry or understanding? If angry who at, the universities or the striking lecturers? If I (or my daughter) complains who should I complain to? Does this impact on anyone else on here?
Your complaints should be to the university and the board of USS pensions. And it's not just lecturers who are going on strike - there are many people in support roles that are in UCU who are also striking.
 
I've just found out about it so need to here more. She does Theatre and i believe the strikes will take place in the run up to her final performance. I think her dissertation will be OK for the reasons you said. The issue may not be with the lecturers but with the uni who are getting 30k in tuition fees off every student and not providing them with the tuition they are paying for. Surely someone should be accountable?
She should have done English the could teach you the here more/hear more argument ;)
 
I know because you pay more these days it feels like universities are getting more, but before these fees the government used to pay the rest. So really the universities are not getting much of any extra.

That being said giving students value for money is a big driving factor at the moment, at least it is at Newcastle uni where I work.

regarding the strikes, it’s been mostly pension related, the main pension scheme changing to make people pay in more and get less out. I’m not part of that scheme or union so I’m not striking. Your issue should be with those forcing through the worse conditions rather than those trying to keep what they signed up for.
 
Bit of a moral dilemma here and I was interested in peoples thoughts. My daughter is doing her degree at Lancaster University and in her final year. Tuition fees 9,250 per year and she has really enjoyed her time at uni but it has been littered with lecturer strikes. I don't know that much about how worthy their cause is but I understand it is to do with a negative impact to their pay and conditions/pensions at a time when universities are getting loads of money. Anyway my daughter and hundreds of thousands of other students have had their studies effected a lot and their next planned strike is likely to be the longest and will last weeks right up to the time when my daughter submits her final work for her degree. In short she will have paid the neck end of £30,000 in tuition fees, missed loads of weeks of tuition and the biggest impact right at the end of her final year which is bound to impact on her grade and maybe her chances in life.

Should I be angry or understanding? If angry who at, the universities or the striking lecturers? If I (or my daughter) complains who should I complain to? Does this impact on anyone else on here?
One of the problems is that Universities are not getting loads of money, unless you are one of the top 10. There are quite a few that are facing serious financial trouble and have had voluntary redundancies. Due to low birthrates in 2000-2002 means less 18 year olds now, dropping income. EU students have been reluctant to come here while it has been uncertain if they can finish their degrees, which has been a large income lost and all the EU research grant money has dried up. Many have lost prominent EU research staff who have left because of uncertainty, taking their research teams and even non-EU grants with them.

Meanwhile Universities have traditionally offered very good pensions and were one of the last to drop final salary. The pension fund now says they are in trouble as those retired are taking more out than they put in. Current members have been forced to pay in more while the payout terms have decreased. Essentially staff have been asked to take a wage cut to pay for the mistakes of the past and the end result is a worse pension. Universities are refusing to help meet this with higher contributions on their side.

While top academics are paid very well, those lower in the scale and as said above, support staff are not on that great a wage. Areas such as IT pays far lower than industry, though good pension and large holiday allowances have traditionally made up for it.

Not sure if the OP can do much about his daughter, but that is a bit more background anyway.
 
Did this staff onboarding day at the Uni I worked at a few year ago. Made bearable only by the fact my mate had to do it at the same time.

They were pretty keen to show where their income came from and where it went. Including the big stash they kept in 'reserve'.
 
Bit of a moral dilemma here and I was interested in peoples thoughts. My daughter is doing her degree at Lancaster University and in her final year. Tuition fees 9,250 per year and she has really enjoyed her time at uni but it has been littered with lecturer strikes. I don't know that much about how worthy their cause is but I understand it is to do with a negative impact to their pay and conditions/pensions at a time when universities are getting loads of money. Anyway my daughter and hundreds of thousands of other students have had their studies effected a lot and their next planned strike is likely to be the longest and will last weeks right up to the time when my daughter submits her final work for her degree. In short she will have paid the neck end of £30,000 in tuition fees, missed loads of weeks of tuition and the biggest impact right at the end of her final year which is bound to impact on her grade and maybe her chances in life.

Should I be angry or understanding? If angry who at, the universities or the striking lecturers? If I (or my daughter) complains who should I complain to? Does this impact on anyone else on here?
I'd be angry at the university. On top of giving lecturers a raw deal on pensions (the reason why they're striking), university staff have had their pay cut 10% over the last 10 years (their pay is relatively poor considering qualifications etc.). Universitys have more money than ever, and spending it on swanky accommodation for the Chinese.
 
Last edited:
How much does the average lecturer work?

I would guess that to teach a subject you have to be a lead in their field. I did web design and the lecturers knew nothing. Some of them had 2nd jobs outside uni.

I understand striking for pensions etc but for conditions? Must be hard working in a state of the art campus building, nice warm office and lecture hall/class.
 
My uni aren't striking - the ballot went just below the threshold apparently. I support our lecturers and fully understand their issues - but with the sheer amount of content covered on our course, it would be terrifying how much we'd miss out on if they did walk out.
 
How much does the average lecturer work?

I would guess that to teach a subject you have to be a lead in their field. I did web design and the lecturers knew nothing. Some of them had 2nd jobs outside uni.

I understand striking for pensions etc but for conditions? Must be hard working in a state of the art campus building, nice warm office and lecture hall/class.
Your last point is a little wide of the mark (being polite).

The conditions relate to ever increasing workloads, unmanageable student numbers, a trend towards being given targets of bringing in a certain amount of grant funding per year (usually unrealistic), engaging with industry, etc. All while ensuring that research outputs are met and teaching is of a high standard. Basically, academics have to be very good at and demonstrate outputs in four very distinct areas, pressures are increasing and benefits are being eroded.

In terms of working hours, it's very difficult to keep all of the plates spinning within what would be considered a reasonable working week.
 
If the strike is before her hand in date she'll not be going to many lectures anyway. Does it have much of a direct impact on her?

Support those who are striking. Solidarity with the workers.

My daughter is in her last year at Edinburgh Uni, they're going on strike again soon and the last time she was unable to get into the library - she needs access to get her final dissertation done. Solidarity my arse - all of her lecturers would have got free degrees, hers is costing her £50k
 

Back
Top