Imagine if instead of announcing a freeze on all pay increases, promotions and increments, university managers announced a maximum salary of £100,000 for anyone working in the institution. The savings made on obscene senior management pay could then go to frontline staff
Especially as those who earn more than £100,000 already don't do any teaching. It would create good will and loyalty at a time when it is urgently needed. Our research and holidays are on hold while we convert our course material for online teaching.
Working at home is not the problem for many of us (although I realise having small kids at home is tough), it is that it takes many months to turn face to face teaching into good online teaching
Denying pay cuts to those on lower salaries and refusing to do anything about the gender and BAME pay gap while continuing to have highly paid senior managers does not make us feel supported at this difficult time. It feels like disaster capitalism.
It is exacerbated by all of the top-down communications and surveys that seem to miss the point as they are out of touch with what it is like to be a frontline academic managing teaching, research and service in a neoliberal university during a pandemic
Those of us most harmed by managerial decisions being taken never wanted a business model based on internationalization, metrics and real estate. We told you in our published work and public engagement how this was harmful to teaching and learning but you didn't listen.
You just imposed all of the harmful government policies - REF, TEF, Prevent, student indebtedess - on us, creating even more work, rather than telling government that these things were harmful and cost money that could be better spent on salaries and student grants
We revealed to you in the state of our mental health that this model was harmful to teaching and learning, but you didn't listen. You're still not listening. The pandemic should be an opportunity to remake the university for the better, not a chance for even more exploitation
