Industrial2017

Some thoughts on industrial action in 2017.

There are several reason why staff must stand strong.

First, there can be no doubt management has been asking more of us over the past 18 months. Why should we not get paid more?

There can be no doubt that casualisation is advancing in the school. If we don't move decisively to stem the tide, it will only advance and, I fear, engulf us.

Our means of redress have been eroded dramatically over the past several years through the de-democratisation of the faculty board and other venues. Massive restructuring decisions are made without real consultation. Industrial action has become our only practical means of nudging the institution as a whole in directions that promote fair pay and conditions, work-life balance and the research-teaching nexus.

But we don't want industrial action to hurt the students or our enrollments! Right? I agree, which is precisely why management should return to the negotiating table post-haste! Unless we make that point strongly and unambiguously, they are right to call our bluff.

https://www.easyzoom.com/imageaccess/0ca1da5b6755432c815bc2a27c64f9e9