A Northumbria University student speaks out against their university's 'sharp practices' and in support of UCU.
There’s a tangible and justified undercurrent of rage at Northumbria University amongst the staff and students. As NU promotes itself as an award-winning education and research institute, that has a zero tolerance for unacceptable behaviour, it is actioning the forced removal and deterioration of employment terms for many of its staff.
The threat is direct and real, accept downgraded employment terms or face an indefinite pay-freeze. Intimidating, threatening, costly, controlling and coercive - quite an accomplishment NU. In a cost of living crisis, kick us when we’re down?
This pension steal/indefinite pay-freeze is designed as part of a staggered move by six major universities in the UK to downgrade staff packages in the sharpest and most unethical of ways. This action is avoidable, stealing pensions as ‘cost-saving measures’ that will directly cost current and future university staff across the country millions of pounds collectively. Staff have no option but to STRIKE, it is the only lawful and legitimate way to oppose these massively impactful and costly decisions.
The fact is we are all interdependent and we exist within the same employment and life ecosystems. Sharp practice is sharp practice - unethical, harmful, costly and a huge violation of trust between employer and employees. Students want to enter a healthy, thriving, ethical labour market, Northumbria University is providing national precedent for the opposite of that.
These are shortsighted and exploitative practices which directly deteriorate staff conditions and student experience. While many students remain unaware about the reason for the strikes, the reason people STRIKE at all, the role of unions, the history of striking in this particular geographic area as the striking heart of uk, the global growing authoritarian and capitalist precedents to deteriorate workers’ rights, particularly exemplified with Milei this last few weeks, with rhetoric in the UK about scrapping workers' rights and human rights currently growing too. Quicksand rhetoric leading to dangerous times for us all.
Everyone is a cog in this machine, does silence equal complicity or strategically groomed passivity? I don't know. But it seems necessary that if people are engaged enough to understand what is going on, to connect the evidence, and raise concerns, it becomes an ethical and humanitarian decision to speak out and act in any way possible to challenge decisions which deteriorate human and workers' rights, for us all.
For context, I work and study within the education and employment ecosystems and know directly the pressure on teaching and lecturing staff currently to deliver more and more with less and less time, on reduced terms, with reduced planning and prep time, reduced or non-existent support staff hour allocation, relying on under-resourced technical departments running on fumes, in buildings that are frequently not fit for purpose. It is a veritable shit-show already, before these drastic harmful cuts set precedent for the employment ecosystem.
We need unions that champion human and workers' rights because our industries, institutions and public representatives do not and evidentially have vested interests in deteriorating them. We need us, the people, recognising the symbiotic impact to our lives of this action. We, the people, the workers, need to recognise we have no other option but to STRIKE, as the only robust and legitimate challenge to NU actions or comply to an assault upon us all.
To Northumbria University, in lieu of any response to my concerns, please, with all due respect, immediately remove all threats and stop action to reduce staff employment terms and understand I do this out of love for you too. Sharp practice is poisonous, your threats are repulsive, harmful and unnecessary. Let’s work together to improve conditions rather than deteriorate them, for us all.
I am a fellow student and professional colleague expressing unequivocal solidarity with the striking workers, pleading for all conscientious humans - student, staff and future and current employee within the UK labour market or any labour market, to step forward, together as one, in outcry at sharp practice that affects us all. Long live the unions, see you on the picket - Be peaceful, be respectful, be joyful, be together, in union - STRIKE with love, solidarity, critical thinking and creativity.
