AUT Strike

[hathycol]

There is, for those that don't know, a lecturers strike. Well, not quite a strike, but a lot of Schools are refusing to mark any work handed in, and the same goes for exams. Some exams haven't even ben written yet. This is because academics are truly fucked over in the tersm of pay - a 40% decrease in real terms - and rather want to get some money out of the top-up fees situation.

I support this. No, honest, I do.

The problem is, the AUT has sort of forgotten about us wee Scottish students. We have our exams earlier than the vast majority of Englush universities because we finish a lot earlier. Basically, my exams start in a week. All my papers are set (THANK GOD) but I have no guarantee of them actually being marked. If that doesn't happen, I may well have to come back to university two weeks early to sit them, which... well... just, no.

There was talk of a local settlement, but the AUT sort of shipwrecked it, in thatit's not happening. Our fourth-years are graduating with a 'special degree' with is basically enough to get them on stage but they still have to come back. This is Bollocks, in my humble opinion.

As such, I am going on a protest to show that students are severely unhappy with the fact that this bloody protest by the lecturers is going nowhere. It's against incompetent management on all sides.

St Mary's Quad, 1pm, wear gowns if you've got them. Be there, St A's people.

I'm going to go and get some lunch for the energy and then I'm off.

~Hathy_Col~

Comments

[tau_sigma]

Oh no. I hadn't thought of the problems with your exams being earlier. We keep getting e-mails telling us they're planning what to do if exams aren't marked, but not what they'll actually do. Why would you have to go back early to sit your exams, though? Why can't they just leave your papers to sit in someone's office until the strike is sorted? Still not good, but better, I would have thought.

Good luck with your protest!

[hathy-col.livejournal.com]

It's so everyone sits them at the same time for fairness. It's insane but it's what we'll have to do, probably.

[doddlebot.livejournal.com]

Not all english uni's are later; Kings College london start their exams in a week as well. Thankfully that doesn't include me this year *bops*

[hathy-col.livejournal.com]

You are SO LUCKY, then. For a lot of third and fourth year honours students, there's not even been an exam set yet. How pants is that?

[doddlebot.livejournal.com]

Thats very pants. I mean i know they recycle questions most of the time but when someones degree rests on it its a pretty shitty thing to do.

[susie22.livejournal.com]

were you at the protest? didn't spot you ... i came out of sallies to watch it ... hope you weren't the one who put a brick through one of our windows *looks stern*. The Debating Society did kind of hi-jack it, but it seemed to go pretty well. I really hope this gets sorted.

[hathy-col.livejournal.com]

Someone put a brick through a window? Ugh, that's pants.

I was indeed at the protest AS YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN!

[susie22.livejournal.com]

hey! i was there! not in the protesty bit but i was when the aut guy started talking, thats when the debating society went nutso at him for trying to make the analogy involving ww2 cos thats the first thing they tell you not to do in debate training. i would totally have followed the protest too but i only had 3/4 before after school club and well ... i wanted ice cream *looks shamed*.

[hyrnetanga.livejournal.com]

I'm glad the strike's not on here, seeing as we're two weeks into our exams already.
I hope they get their act together soon though, cause making you come back early in september just isn't fair!

[hathy-col.livejournal.com]

You're hideously lucky in that respect. We are basically FUCKED. Who cares about national solidarity when some unis aren't even participating? *rage*

[emmysuze.livejournal.com]

a 40% decrease in real terms

oooh you got the spin too! Unfortunately, it turns out all our papers are written so we'll be sitting them no matter what, but whether they get marked is open to debate. At least you're only a first year, these are my finals!!

(yeah ok, I only need 40%, but some people need a heck of a lot more and it's totally unfair on them)

[emmysuze.livejournal.com]

I would like to add that the word on our grape-vine is that the person in charge of the negociating for the UCEA is using students as a bargaining chip and refusing to do any talking because she knows that lecturers really don't want to punish the students and their fight is not with us. However, I think they're all supposed to be meeting again this week so we'll see what happens.

I don't see why your uni can't, if the papers are written, do the exams and wait until later to mark them. It's stupid of them to upset the students in that way. And I think it's ridiculous that 4th years can't graduate. There are provisions in my university's regulations to award degrees without examination so even if we do get totally screwed this month they can still look at previous marks etc and award something proper. Although this might not be satisfactory for everyone, it's a lot better than having to come back once the strike is over and re-sit.

I don't think your gripe should be with the AUT, I think it's with your university board for not writing some contingency plans into the regulations for situations just like this. This isn't the first time a strike like this has happened and it won't be the last either.

[hathy-col.livejournal.com]

Our fourth-years (and third-year medics - they get sent to Manchester for the last two years of it) are being given the graduation ceremony, and are recieving Special Degrees. These are meaningless in the real world.

Our gripe is not with the AUT's aim, it's with the fact that the managmaent of both the university and the AUT haven't got this sorted for the Scottish students. Basically. It is Of The Pants.

[hathy-col.livejournal.com]

Some of our fourth-year tutors are doing that, but a lot aren't, and it's just stupid. People have jobs or PhDs lined up on the basis of actually passing these exams!