Self-reporting in the branch shows we have passed the 50% threshold in our recent ballot on more industrial action. In this blog we want to share some fictionalised pen portraits of the kind of colleagues you help when you vote, come to meetings, read our emails and this blog and take part in industrial action when called on in our branch.
Marjorie
Marjorie has worked here for 16 years. She is grade seven Professional Services staff. Her work focuses on a specialist form of student support. Over those 16 years she has taken regular opportunities for staff development and voluntarily engaged in many practices and events to improve her practice. Her role has become more complex as student needs have become more complex. But she has no promotion prospects unless she moves to a different job. She has been told to do less for her students in order to keep her role at grade 7 level. She is being discriminated against compared with academic staff, who gain promotion for doing their roles better over time. In effect, without a proper promotion path, our colleagues are treated as “professional” services in name only.
Lawrence
As a BAME member of staff Lawrence faces discrimination daily. He is regularly asked to take on roles and responsibilities with poorer terms and conditions than his white colleagues. He has faced informal and formal barriers to promotion and to negotiating a fairer workload. He talks to other BAME colleagues and they face similar problems. But Lawrence has now concluded the university will not face this issue of institutionalised racism, despite numerous attempts to get them to engage.
Frankie
You probably see Frankie most mornings. They work as a cleaner, keeping our office and social spaces lovely places to work. Frankie always makes an effort to smile and be friendly to other colleagues, though many ignore them and don’t understand what they do. Frankie goes home late morning and on their way home often stops at the local foodbank. Each time, they just hope for a little something to pad out the kids’ tea that night. We are an internationally-renowned university: and yet we have colleagues like Frankie using food banks.
Roger
Roger has been at Lancaster University for 14 years. He still does not have a permanent contract. He teaches first year undergraduates and is well regarded by students and colleagues. But once a year, his department terminates his employment. He then spends several months in limbo before being re-hired to go back and do what he has done for several years. The strain is impacting on his family life and mental health. He loves his work and is committed to Lancaster University. But he needs recognition and care from this university.
Helena
Helena got promoted to Senior Lecturer ten years ago and it was a huge achievement for her and one she is very proud of. But in those ten years, support from her department to develop her career further has stagnated. She is regularly asked to take on extra pastoral roles for which she gets no recognition (apart from student gratitude). She tries to talk about working towards promotion to Professor, but her HoD just tells her to get a large grant and that will sort it. She works every weekend just to try to keep her head above water. The idea of having time to work on a grant feels like an utter fantasy. Helena is losing faith in her department and this university.
Ralph
Ralph is a PhD student, also doing some teaching in his department. There is insufficient and unsuitable desk space for all the PhD students in his department and so he has to work and study from home where he juggles this with having two small children in the flat. He gets little support from the department and his teaching responsibilities are often arranged last minute and with little consultation. His income fluctuates and his timetabling is uncertain and all along he feels he is dependent on the patronage of his supervisors.
Let us keep working together, in solidarity to support Marjorie, Lawrence, Frankie, Roger, Ralph and Helena.
And if you feel you are a Marjorie, Lawrence, Frankie, Roger, Ralph or Helena – please join us for our relaxed lunches, come to meetings, keep reading the blog, or just get in touch.
Colleagues do care and we are working to improve your working lives.
Lancaster UCU 