A mixed bag

[lnr]

Illness: It's frustrating to have lost a second weekend in 3 weeks to being ill. It started about 3am on Friday night/Saturday morning with me coughing until I threw up, a not entirely uncommon experience with this cold. Only this time I didn't stop, and threw up again at 4, 8, 9, 10:30 and 12, having got very little sleep inbetween. I spent most of the rest of Saturday asleep. Sunday I risked eating again without any bad effects but found I couldn't actually finish either meal, despite them being nice. Very strange. I'm still coughing - seems to hit about 3 hours after going to sleep and wake me up pretty reliably. As a result I'm pretty tired. But hey, I'm not throwing up, and I lost weight :-)

Injury: My finger seems to be healing OK. The slight bleeding on first changing the dressing was down to a tiny ooze the next day and not at all since. I've still got a plaster over it, partly just a reminder to be careful, partly to hide how ugly looking it is.

Strike: I'm going to be on strike tomorrow, as part of the AUT's action in protest over pay settlements. See AUT press release, BBC article, UCEA release. Personnel have said we won't be paid for the strike day, or for any day on which we take part in Action Short of a Strike. The latter covers mostly things which won't affect me anyway (assessment boycott, no call-outs, appraisal boycott, not covering for absent colleagues), but I'll still be nominally taking part. I feel I should get involved in picketing but somehow reluctant and I'm not sure I can put my finger on why. At leats partly just fear of the unknown. Will try and at least make myself go to tomorrow's lunchtime rally. I feel like I'd be letting my mum down amongst others if I didn't.

Friends: A friend needs a bit of support at the moment having got themselves into a bit of relationship doom. My instinct is to tell them to get well out of it, but of course that doesn't stop them being hurt in the process. The same old stories played out again with minor twists and new characters. Surprisingly despite it giving me the opportunity to mope over my own relationship messes I seem to be doing OK.

Overall: I just want today to be over so I can go home and *sleep*.

Comments

[artela.livejournal.com]

As someone who will be potentially affected by lecturers taking part in "action short of a strike", I'm interested to know why academia seems to regard itself as a special case for pay rises when most people I know in the private sector have been getting much lese than inflation rises for years :-(

[lnr]

To be honest I personally don't feel underpaid, although I do know that as a computer officer I'm quite likely to be able to get better paid work in industry. I think it's worse for those who are at the top of their payscales and don't get to move up a point on the scale each year.

But it was promised that increased income from both the government and from top-up-fees would go into pay, in order to compensate for the same many years of under-inflation increases, and it seems that promise isn't being kept. The unions have been asking for talks since October, and only now after a vote for strike action have the UCEA agree to talk: not now but at the end of the month and next month.

Overall I understand the NUS supports the AUT and NATFHE in this action, I don't know what the other students of my acquaintance feel. But as a union member if the union votes for strike then I'm going to strike unless I very strongly disgree with their position, in which case I'd leave the union.

[keirf.livejournal.com]

It's the lousy situation in the private pension sector that's really biting though.

[lnr]

Having been along to yesterday's rally and been reading up a bit I feel like I have a few more facts at my disposal. My mum's promised to forward me something which I believe was put together by students supporting the action which she thinks is particularly clear. I'll try and post about it in more detail in th next few days.

[artela.livejournal.com]

Having seen the figures that the AUT owned up to yesterday (average of about £35,000 across academic staff according to the AUT), and compared it with my salary (approximately the same, with me now working in IT management and having been in IT for over 20 years), I'd say that they're already, on average, on a par with degree-required professions outside of academia... they might also be interested to learn that, apart from very specilaist skills areas, the wages over the last 4-5 years have been basically static (highest rise any of our lot have had has been in the region of 1%!)

[damerell.livejournal.com]

It's not clear to me that the tech industry post-2001 - ie, one that had massively inflated salaries and suffered an enormous crash - is a particularly good basis for comparison.

[(Anonymous)]

It is one the AUT themselves have been trying to use as a comparitor, so I think to show how it compares is fair enough :-)

[lnr]

But what is the *average* salary of IT professionals? I'd certainly expect someone with your experience in IT to be earning more than that.

[(Anonymous)]

I wouldn't - not any more - well, not outside London anyway.
Graduate intake levels of pay in some of the larger IT companies (outside London) are offering about £18-20K max as a starting salary. And, as I said, currently payrises have been practically non-existant, so dont' expect massive rises either :-)

[artela.livejournal.com]

Oops - sorry - that was me...

[lnr]

Well, I know quite a few people with a lot less experience than you earning at least 35K, outside London, but that's all anecdotal. If you're right I'm surprised, since that would seem to mean pay cuts rather than simply small payrises over the last 5 years. I don't have any ecidence to say you're *not* right though.

But bear in mind the academic salaries are *including* London.

[emperor]

Well, my supervisor didn't strike, but I think I'd have supported him if he had. Some academic/related staff do get very well paid (think clinicians), but I think academics are generally under-valued these days.

[disclaimer: I'm a graduate student]

[jvvw.livejournal.com]

Only six people are allowed on a picket line by the way, so even if you wanted to you probably couldn't.

[lnr]

Yeah, I thought it was some number like that - my mum's lot have a rota but we've just been told when/where the pickets are. Will ask for clarification.

response from Cambridge AUT:

[lnr]

No that is a guideline not a law see:
http://www.aut.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=1547

so feel free to turn up. If we get huge numbers then we can always send
people off to another entrance - its not like we are short of them!

Re: response from Cambridge AUT:

[jvvw.livejournal.com]

That's interesting - everyone here (including people fairly heavily involved in the union) has been quoting that as though it was a legal restriction. We've only got three entrances though, so maybe it's a bit more of an issue.

Re: response from Cambridge AUT:

[3c66b.livejournal.com]

When I picketed for the AUT in the last strike we were very careful not to exceed 6 people *per building* (as I remember).

I think there is a grey area about whether the police can be called in to deal with you for causing an obstruction, intimidating people and so on if there are large numbers of you. So generally sticking to the guideline is a good thing.

Re: response from Cambridge AUT:

[jvvw.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to work out if I know you in real life... I know quite a few people at the university of hertfordshire (including in the astrophysics dept if the usericon isn't accidental!)

Re: response from Cambridge AUT:

[3c66b.livejournal.com]

I don't think you do, but you're right I'm a UH astro person (did I mention UH somewhere? I guess I did). I'm Martin. Hi (-:

Who do you know in astrophysics?

Re: response from Cambridge AUT:

[jvvw.livejournal.com]

I know Phil Lucas quite well. I've met some of the other astro people too but not sure how many names I can remember.

[imc.livejournal.com]

Personnel have said we won't be paid … for any day on which we take part in Action Short of a Strike.

It's that sort of thing that got Brunel greylisted. If you're not going to be paid then you might as well not turn up at all. Has your branch of the union said anything in response?

If Personnel in Oxford have said anything about it, I haven't heard. At the moment if I took part in action short of a strike then no one would notice¹ just now, but it will get tricky if the action isn't called off before exam season as I seem to be solely responsible for operating the computer during the examiners' meetings for computer science.

---

¹There's an appraisal exercise going round at the moment, but I wouldn't have filled it in anyway…

[lnr]

Branch> They haven't said anything official, though I've brought it to their attention.