Lecturer Strikes

[Random Burglar]

At uni today there were picket lines outside every entrance to every dmu building.

Petitions were asked to be signed because Lecturers believe they are over-worked and under paid.

From tomorrow no assignments, exams or presentations will be marked until this dispute is resolved.

The university has done its best to cover this up. However they have failed on this count.

Final year students could have their graduation ceremonies postponed if their work is failed to be marked, not knowing what classification they have recieved.

Anybody else have this take place?

[Master Fox]

At uni today there were picket lines outside every entrance to every dmu building.

Petitions were asked to be signed because Lecturers believe they are over-worked and under paid.

From tomorrow no assignments, exams or presentations will be marked until this dispute is resolved.

The university has done its best to cover this up. However they have failed on this count.

Final year students could have their graduation ceremonies postponed if their work is failed to be marked, not knowing what classification they have recieved.

Anybody else have this take place?

Yes, I did it happened to me today at work. They didn't last very long because it has been raining quite badly down here today!

[Scarby]

its at every university

[stez]

maybe they'll catch up during their lengthy paid holidays or in the evenings of there short-ish days <_<

[Stuliasz]

Yeh there are strikes all across Sheffield uni too. It's only affected one of my lectures so far though.

[andyb92]

Happening at my uni too, they told us our graduations are in sever jeopordy - im a final year student for fks sake

There a bunch of lazy twats they get god knows how much holiday and in my eyes lecturers are just people who cant hack it in a real job so just preach to students claiming they know it all. The idiots at my uni were saying to us yesterday - 'Please email the vice chancellor as we all hate him and try get us a payrise or your graduations, exams etc will be in jeopordy'. I honestly felt like punching one of them, im the universities client for cryin out loud, just imagine paying 4G a year for service like that in any other sort of company??? There would be uproar!

PS Anyone thinking of goin uni after the summer - DO NOT go to Leeds Met - it is appalling.

[Louise]

Mine were on strike yesterday but have re-arranged some of our lectures for today, so it seems a bit half-arsed to me.

Now...should I conduct my own strike and skip today's lectures....

[Manwell Pablo]

its at every university

I doubt very much the muppits at Huddersfield could be bothred to strike, they never joined in while I was there.

Maybe Holly can enlighten me?

[Cat Burger]

I handed in two essays and had an exam in early to mid Jan.

Only just got the essays today, I did alright but I've got more coursework in in a week, hardly gives me any time to work with the feedback does it. They had a week off for marking as well and it's taken this long?

**** the strike.

[andyb92]

It all depends what union the striking lecturers belong to as to whether they actually strike or not, i had a lecturer tell me and a group of other students today to email our vice chancellor with the subject of us supporting the teachers, i told him to get f***d to put it bluntly. Its a crazy situation and imo somes up the state of 'wheres the money gone' in HE.

Get this by 2010 Blair wants a very high percentage of young people (i forget the exact amount) to be in HE - yet universities are now allowed to charge exorborant tuition fees? Nice one Tony

[Frenzied]

It all depends what union the striking lecturers belong to as to whether they actually strike or not, i had a lecturer tell me and a group of other students today to email our vice chancellor with the subject of us supporting the teachers, i told him to get f***d to put it bluntly. Its a crazy situation and imo somes up the state of 'wheres the money gone' in HE.

Get this by 2010 Blair wants a very high percentage of young people (i forget the exact amount) to be in HE - yet universities are now allowed to charge exorborant tuition fees? Nice one Tony

The facts are, however, that HE in this country was brought to its knees by the Thatcher government. Until her reign of terror the UK had the best universities in the world and a workforce within it that received fair remuneration.

If you look at comparable professions (lawyers, doctors etc) over the past 2/3 decades you'll see their average earnings (and status) have risen while lecturers', professors' etc have remained relatively static.

Unfortunately, the New Labour government hasn't adequately tackled the problems in HE - forcing graduates to pay for their tuition is simply wrong, as many don't and won't earn the mean average of university leavers.

However, the money is needed and there are two ways of getting this: cut the number of people going to university or increase the general tax burden. Either way, we will get higher quality graduates and university professionals that are motivated.

Just to add, university professionals work very long hours and their so-called long holidays are mostly spent working. You see they also have research and post-grad commitments.

[andyb92]

Just to add, university professionals work very long hours and their so-called long holidays are mostly spent working. You see they also have research and post-grad commitments.

This isnt the case at Leeds Met - all the hand outs and notes module material etc is all out of books word for word across the majority of all the schools in the university, i came out of a lecture today which was scheduled for an hour and instead lasted little over 15 mins simply cos the lecturer didnt know her subject area - last week in a tutorial my friend piped up and told the class how to do the work cos the tutor simply was not up to it.

I dont disagree with lecturers working hard - at my gfriends university they have teaching staff whose sole role is to research.

My major beef is that as a client/customer of leeds met iam paying a large some of money (out my own skintos pocket) to be educated. Then when i get told at uni by teachers and lecturers that my graduation could be in jeorpady because of my final exams being boycotted it kinda grinds my gears.

I disagree with the fact lecturers dont earn much - at my university a senior lecturere can expect to earn 35K - that in my mind is an execellent salary for the job itself, and a normal lecturer can expect 25K. The debate over HE funding could rage on and get into other areas - as in where is this goverment spending the money but thats another story.

[Strokes]

The facts are, however, that HE in this country was brought to its knees by the Thatcher government. Until her reign of terror the UK had the best universities in the world and a workforce within it that received fair remuneration.

If you look at comparable professions (lawyers, doctors etc) over the past 2/3 decades you'll see their average earnings (and status) have risen while lecturers', professors' etc have remained relatively static.

Unfortunately, the New Labour government hasn't adequately tackled the problems in HE - forcing graduates to pay for their tuition is simply wrong, as many don't and won't earn the mean average of university leavers.

However, the money is needed and there are two ways of getting this: cut the number of people going to university or increase the general tax burden. Either way, we will get higher quality graduates and university professionals that are motivated.

Just to add, university professionals work very long hours and their so-called long holidays are mostly spent working. You see they also have research and post-grad commitments.

The fact is that when Thatcher came to power the country was in recession, obviously cuts had to be made but history seems to have forgotten these facts.

[Frenzied]

This isnt the case at Leeds Met - all the hand outs and notes module material etc is all out of books word for word across the majority of all the schools in the university, i came out of a lecture today which was scheduled for an hour and instead lasted little over 15 mins simply cos the lecturer didnt know her subject area - last week in a tutorial my friend piped up and told the class how to do the work cos the tutor simply was not up to it.

I dont disagree with lecturers working hard - at my gfriends university they have teaching staff whose sole role is to research.

My major beef is that as a client/customer of leeds met iam paying a large some of money (out my own skintos pocket) to be educated. Then when i get told at uni by teachers and lecturers that my graduation could be in jeorpady because of my final exams being boycotted it kinda grinds my gears.

I disagree with the fact lecturers dont earn much - at my university a senior lecturere can expect to earn 35K - that in my mind is an execellent salary for the job itself, and a normal lecturer can expect 25K. The debate over HE funding could rage on and get into other areas - as in where is this goverment spending the money but thats another story.

My point about university professionals working hard was put too generally and I agree there are, as with other professions, many that simply don't put the hours in and aren't up to the job. But I think one of the reasons why there are poor quality lecturers and other staff at universities is due to inadequate funding and a total lack of morale in the profession.

I really have to disagree strongly with your points about pay and this is linked to my previous point. 25k is atrocious and 35k not much better if you compare comparible professions and salaries in the private sector - a graduate working in media sales or recruitment can earn more than that. And research assistant jobs (often the first point of entry into academia) aren't even worth thinking about - less than 20k is normal. And why would graduates with heaps of debt want to go into a job with poor pay?

A central problem here is that if pay is poor why would the best candidates go for jobs in HE. Not only that but status levels are relatively low now. As a result you get many poor quality lecturers and a spiraling down of standards at universities.

[Chairman of the Bored]

"when workers are on strike....you don't cross picket lines" ANON

[Jon the Hat]

The facts are, however, that HE in this country was brought to its knees by the Thatcher government. Until her reign of terror the UK had the best universities in the world and a workforce within it that received fair remuneration.

If you look at comparable professions (lawyers, doctors etc) over the past 2/3 decades you'll see their average earnings (and status) have risen while lecturers', professors' etc have remained relatively static.

Unfortunately, the New Labour government hasn't adequately tackled the problems in HE - forcing graduates to pay for their tuition is simply wrong, as many don't and won't earn the mean average of university leavers.

However, the money is needed and there are two ways of getting this: cut the number of people going to university or increase the general tax burden. Either way, we will get higher quality graduates and university professionals that are motivated.

Just to add, university professionals work very long hours and their so-called long holidays are mostly spent working. You see they also have research and post-grad commitments.

The reason why lecturers in general get paid less than comparable professions is that they don;t earn much income for their employer. Those who also act as consultants and or write books are usually an exception. It is much easier to earn more if you bring stacks of cash in like a Lawyer would do.

[Cobbo]

Is this like when hunger strikes from the shreddies adverts?

[Frenzied]

The reason why lecturers in general get paid less than comparable professions is that they don;t earn much income for their employer. Those who also act as consultants and or write books are usually an exception. It is much easier to earn more if you bring stacks of cash in like a Lawyer would do.

Doctors? Surgeons? Headmasters? They don't directly earn much for their employers but get a better deal in terms of pay than university professionals.

[Craig]

Greedy ****s.

[Milky]

the vast majority of my lecturers in this first year have been rubbish. some can hardly speak english, others are just generally incompetant, i have to say i expected better. i'm hoping they have given us the crappy ones because our 1st year doesn't count towards the degree. these ones would get paid less if i had anything to do with it

[Cobbo]

Greedy ****s.

Are they ****s that happen to involve snacking during the event?