[MEGATHREAD: GTAs & Self-Funding PGRs]
Today, it's all about money. Teaching is an essential (and for some, non-negotiable) part of the PhD experience, but as rewarding as it can be, it's also a site of incredible exploitation at the best of times. #pandemicPGRs [1/X]
Today, it's all about money. Teaching is an essential (and for some, non-negotiable) part of the PhD experience, but as rewarding as it can be, it's also a site of incredible exploitation at the best of times. #pandemicPGRs [1/X]
Already, since the outbreak of the pandemic, we've seen cuts across the sector that have targeted precarious, short-term positions - many undertaken by PGRs. For example, @Glasgowanticas are organising around the mass dismissal of their GTAs. [2/X]
Today, we're working with the amazing @PanPrecariat, who have been tirelessly campaigning to end inequalities & injustices at Edinburgh University, to highlight some of the key issues facing GTAs.
We'd advise reading their thread in full as it's phenomenal - but here are a couple of key highlights!
💕We'll be sharing their Open Letter as part of our Call to Action later in the day.
✊Strike queen @MRobinsonRhodes spoke back in March about the exploitative nature of GTA contracts: heartbreaking that so many of the issues she talks about have been exacerbated by COVID-19.
This is so important - and showcases why we explicitly linked GTA issues with self-funding students today. Those without full funding often rely on GTA work to subsist - even having to schedule it around other part time jobs and commitments. Solidarity 💕
@CoronaContract is a group that's grown directly out of COVID-related issues: They're campaigning for no terminations & a two year extension to precarious staff contracts. Here's a few selections from their amazing thread on PhD students...
....Again, we'd recommend reading the thread in full!
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The lovely Vicky Blake from @ucu is so right here - especially about self-funding students being second-class citizens. We need to
Couldn't have put it better ourselves! (Which is why we're leaving it to the experts in these megathreads...!)
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To round off our highlighting of issues, we have an anonymous account provided to us by a self-funding student.
We're sure these words will resonate with a lot of you, no matter your funding status. DM us if you'd like us to share your story, too.
Moving onwards! We'd like to signpost you to some accounts and resources that may help. The most obvious is probably the work that @UCUAnti_Cas does - we'd recommend getting in touch with your local branch. (We're compiling a list of all of these that we'll share later.)
For anyone nervous about getting involved with these initiatives: it's not all campaigning & open letters & being quite cross: @CymruPrecarity produce amazing creative responses (such as well as this Academia board game), although they also remain quite cross sometimes too.
We'd also like to urge anyone who's struggling to seek support from their supervisor, if that's possible - here's an anonymous account about how this was a crucial step in managing expectations whilst working part time in a pharmacy during this pandemic.
To round off the day, here are some calls to action. The most important is to join a union - it's free for PGR students, @ucu does casework, and it's fantastic for building solidarity and relationships between PGRs & staff members.
ucu.org.uk/join
ucu.org.uk/join
Secondly: come to the @CoronaContract meeting to discuss tactics and future plans. We'll be in attendance (and maybe speaking, too!)
Thirdly, there are (at least) these two petitions that need your support - if there's more that we have missed please tell us and we'll add on to this thread! Firstly, this from @PrecariousBrum on cuts to GTA positions:
And then this from @UoNCasuals, also on protecting hourly-paid staff after budget slashes. Signing these open letters only takes a few clicks, can be done from the safety of your own home, and honestly makes a huge difference.
That's all we had planned for today - but we just want to quickly link back to the work that we're doing. We found in our survey (N=>700 now) that 50% of respondents had financial concerns arising out of the pandemic.
❗️All PGRs, regardless of funded status, need support more than ever. Research councils, unions and institutions need to come together to address the financial and pastoral deficit every PhD student is currently experiencing, and to maintain the excellence of research in the UK.
Thanks so much for spending time with us today, examining these tricksy financial issues. We'll be addressing all this and more in our open letter, which is now in its second draft phase. If you'd like to be involved - DM us and we can add you as a collaborator. Over and out!💕
