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What do people think of the Lecturers' industrial action?

Do you think Lecturers industrial action is justified?  

79 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you think Lecturers industrial action is justified?

    • Yes
      39
    • No
      40


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It's high time that the University Lecturers just got on with their jobs rather than their current petty refusals to set exams and mark work.

 

Universities are businesses that no longer thrive on endless government handouts. Lecturers have been offered a 3% rise this year and 3% next year. Not many other private sector workers can claim that they've been offered something comparable.

 

Should this money not be spent on improving facilities for students or reducing the extortionate fees they now have to pay?

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Fully agree, outraged

 

I thought lecturers unions were against fees for students.

 

But now they want a bigger slice of those same fees to pay towards their (already rather generous) salaries. :confused:

 

And THEN these lecturers refuse to mark the exams and coursework of those same students as part of their protest :confused: :confused:

 

Hmmm. I'd appreciate it if someone could explain this logic.

 

Chicken Monkey x

 

PS

Most of 'em are on sabatical half the time and give 2 lectures a week for the rest. (sorry, couldn't resist a quick dig! ;) )

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It's high time that the University Lecturers just got on with their jobs rather than their current petty refusals to set exams and mark work.

 

Universities are businesses that no longer thrive on endless government handouts. Lecturers have been offered a 3% rise this year and 3% next year. Not many other private sector workers can claim that they've been offered something comparable.

 

Should this money not be spent on improving facilities for students or reducing the extortionate fees they now have to pay?

 

Lecturers are by far underpaid for their job specifications, and budgetting doesn't work like that... tuition fees and the soon to be top up fees have nothing to do with lecturers.

 

I completely back the action.... more because it is the 1st one that is actually going to make a difference. In previous years they've boycotted a couple of lectures and stuff.. but what's that going to do?!

 

This time, there will be mass disruption when no one's exams/ dissertations are marked and thousands of final year students (of which I am one) don't graduate! This will cause huge uproar and the university will HAVE to sit up and bloody listen. Imagine how much dosh they'll have to fork out for compensation when all of us sue them??

 

And the graduate jobs won't be filled, leaving hundreds out of a job, because people haven't graduated...

 

Yes it does affect me in a negative way but this is industrial action with actual consequences.. the only industrial action that works!

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Academic salaries have been falling behing other professions for years. It's about time the pay was brought into line.

 

A percentage of the cash as a result of tuition fees is earmarked to cover the pay increase.

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But now they want a bigger slice of those same fees to pay towards their (already rather generous) salaries. :confused:

 

Rather generous salaries? Really? £35K (ish) for often working 10 hours plus a day + weekend work, isn't much when the same academic could earn half that again in industry.

 

The salaries of lecturers should be at least comparable to what they could earn in industry or you end up losing the best people.

 

b

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But now they want a bigger slice of those same fees to pay towards their (already rather generous) salaries. :confused:

 

 

Are you kidding? £24,000 after 8 years of self-funded studying accruing debts of over £30,000?. I don't think that's generous or comparable to other jobs where the same amount of training is required. As basshedz says, we also work up to 12 hours a day and almost all weekends involve some work. We have rather generous holiday allocation but never have the time to take more than around half of it, an any that isn't taken isn't paid.

 

Outraged, that 6% is nothing when in real terms lecturers salaries have actually fallen significantly over the last 10 years and many are worse off now than they were then. We don't see people in other industries in that sitution.

 

The strike is over something that was promised and has now been denied, a typical situation that we deal with day in day out in higher education.

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The govt said higher fees were going to go towards paying lectuers more - and they haven't. Basically the action is about a promise that was not fulfilled...

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students shouldnt be punished (exam papers and dissertations not being marked etc) since they have still paid fees. hence there has been talk of being able to sue universitys for such action by lecturers. I understand they need to do something to get action from the government but its not fair to take it out on the students who have paid for an education

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students shouldnt be punished (exam papers and dissertations not being marked etc) since they have still paid fees. hence there has been talk of being able to sue universitys for such action by lecturers. I understand they need to do something to get action from the government but its not fair to take it out on the students who have paid for an education

 

I can understand your point and it's a very difficult situation. However students have to realise that this was an absolute last resort, and it isn't the lecturers' fault. If we were going to be given what we were promised, there would be no problem, we're not asking for some unreasonable pay rise. Go ahead and sue the universities, maybe that will get them off their backsides and get them to do something about it this has been going on too long.

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I'm not sure that suing the university will work. this is the response we got in relation to our fees.

 

Q: Will I be given a reduction of fees or can I claim some or all of my fees back because of this dispute?

 

A: No.The legal position on the contract between the University and its students is clear. Under the terms and conditions which you accepted when you joined the University, the University is not liable for the effect of actions beyond our reasonable control, including industrial action. Section 11.2 of the terms and conditions (under Liability) states that: Neither party shall be liable to the other for any failure or delay in performing its obligations under this contract if such failure or delay is due to any cause beyond that party's reasonable control. This will include (but will not be limited to) governmental actions, war, riots, civil commotion, fire, flood, epidemic, labour disputes (including labour disputes involving the workforce or any third party) and acts of God.

 

Funny, I don't remember seeing the T&Cs when I first enrolled.

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They get fairly well paid for what is essentially part time work (if that). I don't understand what they're moaning about, but that's the teaching profession all over. Months and months of holidays, part time hours, full time pay, and they're still not happy.

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They get fairly well paid for what is essentially part time work (if that). I don't understand what they're moaning about, but that's the teaching profession all over. Months and months of holidays, part time hours, full time pay, and they're still not happy.

 

That's absolute rubbish read my earlier post which mentions the low pay, incredibly long hours, and holiday which we can't take.

 

On the subject of holiday, you think we get a long summer break? Apart from the timetabling and other preparation for the next academic year, we have to do visits out to schools, run open days, and prepare and teach short courses for CPD for outside companies. These companies pay thousands of pounds for each attendee, for which the lecturer responsible, and in fact their own department don't even see. The universities pressure departments to run these courses because they bring in so much money.

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