UCU Rising

(Note, if industrial action goes ahead, it will not affect the services which I offer independently.)

Not the most sparkling title for one of my posts, but simple and says it all really, I want to talk about the future, what might happen in the industry and how it might affect you as students.

The last few years have seen sporadic but continual outbreaks of industrial action in HE institutions and when they happen, I feel that students do not necessarily understand why or what is happening behind the scenes to cause this, not because they are incapable of understanding, but because wider narration encourages the focus to be on how disruptive the action is to their learning or how much they are paying in tuition fees to then be left without teaching. Looking back on my time at study, it certainly felt like that, like the only thing this action was acheiving was to upset and anger me, to leave me feeling unsupported and cut off, but I have seen "the other side" now and I "get it". Hopefully what I say next will do the same for any of you that might wonder what is going on.

I cannot speak for what other individuals in the industry are going through, but I can tell you my story such as it is and where I am now.

The Curse of the Casual Agreement. (Sounds like a Netflix series??)

Since starting in student support, it has been on a casual agreement for an hourly wage, something which has been both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it has offered some freedom to work when I wish, but on the other hand, it has offered no guarantee of work and at a time when financial security is becoming more and more of an issue, this kind of contract has brought me more negatives than positives.

The recent cap on the number of hours I can work within that agreement (purportedly for the benefit of mental health and employee health) has made such positions untenable now, because I am now restricted in the number of hours I can work (and the amount of money I can earn) during semester, when there is no guarantee I will be offered the maximum number of hours anyway. This makes second and third jobs a necessity (either that or I have to survive on what I save during the 24/25 weeks of semester to support me for the remainder of the year).

How does this affect you?

The contractual and financial strain is my burden however and not what affects you as students. What affects you is when someone like me is curtailed from helping you. When I was free to take as many hours as I wanted or could, that had a benefit for students. It meant that if I had a free hour and a student had an unforeseen problem, wanted to talk, go for a coffee, had an urgent medical or academic appointment that they wanted accompanying to, or a rescheduled or additional class for just that week that they needed support through, I could offer that immediate help because there was no limit on what I could do. Now however, what am I to do if I fill up my allocated allowance of time and then a student comes to me in tears because they are homesick, is having a breakdown because they are burned out, or has something urgent or unforeseen as I mention above? Am I supposed to say "Sorry I am not allowed to help because I have no more hours to spare??" How will that help you? How will that make you feel?

I can tell you how the thought of saying that makes me feel...sick, disgusted and heartbroken when I think of some of the students I have supported and still support and the times we have just sat and talked for no reason other than they needed to. I even fear, that I might have to turn someone away and that the consequences of that could be fatal.

How the UCU campaign relates to this.

The UCU is balloting its members right now as to whether or not there is support for industrial actions and if the ballot receives the support it requires, this could see industrial action on a national level, not just one or two Universities, but over 100 and that will obviously disrupt student learning but it is not happening because there is a desire to disrupt your learning or leave you without support. Your learning is already being disrupted in so many ways and available support is already under strain. What could come out of this might actually restore something instead.

This is not supposed to garner your support or encourage you to take action yourselves, it is simply me, getting some feelings out of my head and hopefully giving a glimpse of "the other side".

#highereducation #university #student #studentlife #academic #academicsuccess #studyskills #academicwriting #academicwritingservices #academicwritingassignments #mentalhealth