Why I Support the UCU Strike¶

I don’t want to strike! It hurts my students, it hurts the University I love, and it hurts me financially 1 but sometimes we are left with no choice.

The Bedtime Ramblings UCU Strike

Simon Harper

19 Feb 2020

5 min read

I’m striking for a fair pension and for fair and equal pay (for my younger colleagues). The great thing about working at a University is that you get to affect students lives by helping with their education, and you get the freedom to pursue research that you think is important. The down side is that you don’t get paid very well.

Note

I’ve third year students who graduate to a job with a salary much higher than mine, and I’m at a first class academic institution!

Part of my pay deal was a good pension and I’ve been relying on this to retire at 65 (in about 15 years) but over the last few years this has been eroded. First changes where made which in effect meant I lost £200,000 (yes £200k) from my pension overall, and then further changes mean that of I want to retire with this reduced pension I’ll need to work until I’m 70.

This next round of pension changes will mean further reductions in benefits and higher costs in putting money into the scheme. It can’t go on unchallenged.

Important

So if you’re a Manchester Student please email Nancy & Patrick to voice your concern, and if you are academic or academic related staff or are a PhD student join the UCU (it’s free for students).