University Strikes: How are you affected?

This thread is veering off-topic. I think you should take this particular discussion into another thread.

The solution isn't to prop up the pension benefits of people who are earning well above their field, then.

Most universities operate on a so-called "equal pay for equal work" principle in that they give the lecturers the same wages irrespective of their field, unless they are a guest lecturer or a 'star' who the university wants to grab for the reputation.

STEM lecturers wouldn't be leaving if they wouldn't have to make such a huge salary sacrifice in order to work at at a university instead of the public sector.

Yes, engineering, medicinal and economics lecturers will be taking a massive pay cut in order to work at a university. They have a clear incentive to leave if their pensions are cut, because that's the only retention factor.

Some courses such as law, marketing etc. are paid fairly equal to the market rate.

Other courses such as arts, psychology and languages are paid multiples above the private sector. Gaining employment at a university is creme de la creme because you won't find a higher paid job elsewhere.

In other words, lecturers from courses in higher market demand are subsidising the lecturers with lower market demand.

A very quick job search on jobs.ac.uk reveals that King's College London is looking for the following job titles:
"Lecturer in Economics" (£33,518 starter)
"Lecturer in African Literature" (£33,518 starter)
"Lecturer in Medieval Literature" (£33,518 starter)

Please tell me with a straight face that these two courses are legitimately of the same societal or economic value, or generate the same revenue in tuition fees for the university.

Lecturers in STEM should be angry that the university is overpaying non-STEM lecturers and underpaying them, instead of being angry at the universities for having to cut spending in order to finance burgeoning pension benefits.

A pension scheme for person A teaching Economics who had 300 students will be paid the same both pre and post retirement as a person B teaching African Literature who had 20 students. This is inefficient.




They need to take that up with the auditors of the pension scheme then, not the scheme operators.

That was the professional judgement of the auditors who thoroughly investigated the scheme top to bottom, after the actuaries opined that this was indeed the deficit.

I doubt UCU has more clout and knowledge than actuaries who plan pension schemes 5 days a week, or auditors who are held to high ethical standards to form an accurate opinion.

Seems more like an emotional argument.



King's College London Vice Chancellor salary: £350 000
King's College London staff numbers (FTE): 6 590
Bonus to all members of staff upon sacking the Vice Chancellor (Salary/Staff): £53.

Okay, I hope they enjoy their Christmas jeans present then.

I mean, you can sack the entire senior management and executive board in all universities in the USS scheme and you'd still need major cuts because the sackings and subsequent redirection of all funds fully and only back to the pension scheme would not really make a dent in the pension deficit.

Don't completely agree with how these strikes are being done or motives, but they're ok with me!
Missing 3/4 modules so more sleep for me and been told will be getting 80% in presentations automatically. Although the topics missed have already been written in exam so gotta do reading

some woman was trying to get me to sign her petition but I wanted food so I walked away
#denied

Literally nothing has been cancelled or affected for me
just increase in conversations about it
people in the way of all the crossings with their banners
and everyone bragging about having no history or spanish lectures and I literally know 1 chemist who had a tutorial cancelled

My timetable is now 1 hour a week.

The majority of my lectures and seminars have been cancelled for the past few weeks and this coming week. It is concerning me a lot since I have found during the past couple of years that I generally learn best through contact time rather than reading, and lectures help me to absorb the information far easier. Being in my final year of my degree too makes it all the more worrying. I'm actually getting quite anxious about it all now as I feel extremely behind, my system of learning has been disrupted and I feel it will definitely impact upon my final grades.

I've been told strike could be off on Wednesday.

Current UCU position is that it is on, but it ultimately depends on how these (crappy, but - we think - intermediate) proposals are voted.

https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/9242/UCU-announces-14-strike-dates-at-61-universities-in-pensions-row

University and College Union has announced the following strike days for their members who are staff at universities and colleges:


Week one - Thursday 22 and Friday 23 February (two days)
Week two - Monday 26, Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 February (three days)
Week three - Monday 5, Tuesday 6, Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 March (four days)
Week four - Monday 12, Tuesday 13, Wednesday 14, Thursday 15 and Friday 16 March (five days)


The interesting thing about a strike like this is a lot of universities are doing things in their own way.


Are your lectures and/or seminars affected?
What are the university doing about that?


At the end of the day, you're still paying the university for a service, and you're not getting anything from it...

As a first year, I'm not affected too much as most of my studies are self-directed anyway, and I don't get much out of the lectures despite attending all of them.

Here at Edinburgh (for Informatics anyway), it's been confirmed that stuff that isn't taught as a result of the strike will not be examined, which is reassuring.

Either way, I don't think people's pensions are to be messed with and if lecturers have to lose 14 days of pay by withholding labour to force Universities UK to listen to them then so be it. I'd be angry if it was my pension being messed with.

Depends if one is here simply to get a degree or education.
....stuff that isn't taught as a result of the strike will not be examined - If grading is what one cares for guess it makes no difference but one has invested time, effort, money, other resources just to learn. If we are compensated by either taking a drop in the program or by providing us with refund then it lessens the pain by giving us the opportunity to stay here n cover up whatever we have missed in our classes. We have signed a contract with the university to provide for services n they have not delivered. Am not in for giving freebies to others at my own cost or that of my families. I understand the pain of the staff members but I wonder if they understand mine.