If we’re totally honest, most of us were fairly relieved by the October and December strikes that took place last semester – by that point in the term, a day off lectures to study at home or just relax was well received. But here we are, in a new term, and already we’ve had three strikes by the various staff unions around campus (28th January, 6th February and Monday 10th February).
Why are the staff striking, I hear you cry? Lecturers have had their pay rates frozen for the next five years, meaning no bonuses or pay rises, and other members of uni staff, such as the cleaners and caterers, are protesting that they don’t receive enough money to live in the (admittedly pricey) city of Southampton. By striking, the staff aim to prove their worth within the university in the hope that the powers that be will stop the changes and raise pay rates for non-teaching members of staff. But their pleas to the uni administration are appearing worthless for the most part, with the administration refusing to engage in an open conversation with the strikers, meaning, to make their voices heard, our lecturers strike yet more.
But is striking really the way to do this? For the first few strikes, the staff had the sympathy of their students, who, for the most part, by that late stage in the term, were relieved for an extra day to work on essays and all that reading. But now, right at the beginning of a new term, patience with all these strikes is wearing thin! Just as us students are trying to get back into the swing of lectures, seminars and those dreaded early mornings, there seems to be strikes here, there and everywhere. Rather than gaining support of their students, all lecturers are doing is limiting their learning and adding to their work-load, with our uni email accounts constantly being bombarded with “catch-up work” and “changes to the module outline” emails. I’m not saying that the uni administration is totally innocent in all this, but putting the education of students as a second place priority is hardly going to convince anyone that lecturers deserve a raise — if anything it’ll make the opposite happen.
While, I’m sure we’re all in support of our lecturers getting the pay they deserve for the jobs they do, the only thing striking achieves is putting us students as a bit of a disadvantage, especially third years, who are reliant on staff for dissertation meetings and more. Surely a conversation between the staff unions and those higher up would be more likely to happen if our lecturers stopped causing trouble around campus? But the strikes show no sign of stopping anytime soon, with the Southampton UCU website saying they are “planning [their].. joint local strategy.” Looks like the strikes are here to stay, then.
What do you think? Do you agree with the strikes? Have you had lectures or seminars disrupted by striking lecturers? Let us know on our Facebook or Twitter sites now!