Uni strikes – a letter to the editor
Posted by John, October 15th, 2018 - under Strikes, Universities.
This was published in today’s Canberra Times.
Support for uni strike
The forthcoming strike at the University of Canberra highlights a reality not often mentioned in discussions of higher education. (“Canberra Uni staff to strike for first time in decade’, October 11, p3) Our universities are built on the unpaid labour of their workers.
The assistant professor system at UC is designed to force academic staff to work long, long hours on the off chance of becoming permanent employees, and normalising in those who survive this tortuous process the new reality of 60-hour working weeks.
These extra hours are unpaid and inhumane. The short-term solution to me seems obvious. The NTEU could campaign for overtime to be paid to all staff who work more than 38 hours a week. The longer-term solution is to properly fund universities so staff do not have to work long unpaid hours.
My best wishes to the striking workers at the University of Canberra. I support you in your campaign to reclaim your humanity.
John Passant,