The Solidarity Federation Education Union (SFEU) would like to express its
solidarity with university academic staff currently engaged in the Marking andAssessment Boycott as part of their demand for restored salaries, the eliminationof the gender and race pay gap, workloads and casualization. ---- As on previousoccasions, it is a big step to take but ultimately one of our greatest weaponsfor causing major disruption to the academic process. Students are understandablyangered by university responses to date largely suggesting that they will justpredict a grade based on their prior performance - it appears it is easier toignore all their hard work this semester than to get round the table andnegotiate an end to this dispute. ---- Although there has been little firmprogress on many fronts including casualization, the strike action this Springhas secured a major achievement - a rolling back of most of the changes made toour pensions and it is clear that only concerted action will achieve improvementsin other areas.Across the UK, university management is threatening deductions of pay between 30%and 100% for participating in the lawful marking and assessment boycott, deemingthe refusal to mark and assess "partial performance". While the legality of sucha threat is open to question, we are pleased to see that some universities havealready shelved such threats or barely mention them now in their communications.Queen Margaret University, for example, has now rescinded its threat to introduce100% deductions. While this is good, we must be vigilant regarding attempts tofoist boycotted work onto those not taking action, especially vulnerablecolleagues who are in precarious roles or those who are migrant workers.Such a route, however, would be difficult to take and, at most, would only coversome assessments and marking would be not complete by the summer exam boards. Theonly way to ensure proper marking is to concede to workers' demands. When willthe employers recognise that this is their only option?In the meantime, SFEU will continue to support workers under pressure to mark,will build solidarity across unions and will continue to press for a form oftrade unionism that is democratic, horizontal and responsive to the needs of allsectors of the education industry.https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=649985533830207&set=a.317579027070861_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten