We write this letter at a time of unprecedented precarity across the sector and in light of the major consequences of casualisation for health and wellbeing, migration status, quality of teaching and research. As a recent meeting of the Russell Group acknowledged: 'the working conditions for casual staff are the learning conditions for students. Staff who have poor mental health, insecure contracts, and heavy workloads can negatively affect student experience and outcomes'. During the uncertainty caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic this is surely truer now than ever.
This letter therefore covers staff employed on a variety of precarious or casual contracts, including ‘fixed-term’, ‘hourly paid’ and other casualised employment relations. It equally seeks assurance as to the situation of research students, regardless of whether they self-fund their studies, are in receipt of UKRI or external charitable funding, or hold university funded postgraduate 'scholarships'. This is because we consider the issue of casualised contract extensions, research scholarship funding extensions, and provision for the alleviation of financial hardship faced by both postgraduate students and other precarious members of the university's academic community, inherently interlinked and combined.
The University has asked all staff to make onerous changes to their teaching and research in order to keep our universities running, at short notice and without additional pay. For casualised staff this is despite the already gross underestimation of hours worked. Additionally, staff and postgraduate students with caring responsibilities, including those caring for children, older relatives and other vulnerable friends and family members, will see these responsibilities increase drastically, as other forms of support are no longer available. For many, the additional time and energy necessary in fulfilling vital caring responsibilities will make continuing with their teaching and research near-impossible.
For casualised staff, the clock is now ticking. In a few weeks or months, contracts will expire. Staff will be rendered jobless at a time when it is highly probable that most, if not all, university hiring will freeze, even while impossibly stretched departments will need the help more than ever. As it stands many precarious staff will not be eligible for the government's newly proposed unemployment benefit. Those of casual staff with work permits sponsored by the University may face deportation.
In the current climate, the already unsustainable requirements for survival for casualised staff and many postgraduate students have become even more impossible: staff surely cannot be expected to or go without work, or to transition to jobs across the country or potentially out of the country during an ongoing global pandemic.
This open letter calls on the University of Birmingham to:
- Provide an immediate contractual guarantee of two years work, at or above current level of remuneration, for all fixed term contract staff at the University;
- To guarantee that all University-funded PhD scholarships be extended for an initial period of 6 months so that no students are disadvantaged by the Covid-19 pandemic and to lobby research councils to do the same;
- Guarantee sufficient student support funding is available for postgraduate students most at risk of financial hardship, for example disabled students and students with caring responsibilities;
- Suspend fees for all self-funding postgraduate students and those in their fourth year of postgraduate studies (and part-time equivalent);
- Suspend or postpone all formal deadlines and annual progress reviews for PGRs, to remove the pressure on both students and staff of extra workload in a time of crisis;
- To guarantee the pay for hourly paid staff who have lost work due to the shutdown (with reference to the government’s job retention scheme);
[This open letter draws on the national open letter written by casualised staff:
http://tinyurl.com/coronacontract]
SIGNED:
Freya Watkins, PGTA/TF/PhD student, Psychology
Eleanor Munro, PhD Student, University of Birmingham
Abby Gilsenan, PhD student, School of Social Policy
Ioana Cerasella Chis, PhD Student & UCU committee member, Political Science & International Studies department
Rob Fitt, PhD History & PGTA
William Horncastle, PGR and PGTA in POLSIS
Daniel Munday, PhD student, IDD
Josh Allen, Communications Officers Populism in Action Project, POLSIS
Cristina Fernández Recasens, Catalan Language and Culture Teaching Fellow, Modern Languages
James Brackley, Lecturer in Accounting
Mikey Brown, University of Birmingham Student-Staff Solidarity
Sadegh Attari, PhD Researcher (Wolfson), Department of English Literature
Nathan Critch, PhD Student, POLSIS
Matthew McKenna PGR Politics
Professor Matt Houlbrook, Head of Department of History
Francesca Berry, Senior Lecturer/AHCVS
Eva Momtaz, PhD student in Dept of English Literature
Emily Vincent/EDACS
Catherine Oliver, PhD student, School of GEES
Joseph Ward, GTA & PGR, POLSIS
Rose Debenham, Doctoral Researcher, History
John Munro, lecturer, history
Safina Bi, PhD Student, Dept of Social Work and Social Car
Bircan Ciytak/ PhD student/ Social Policy, Sociology & Criminology
Paladia Ziss, PGR 1st year, CoSS
Georgina Rowe, postgraduate taught student within English
Andy Jolly (Doctoral Researcher)
Shannon Oates, PhD Student, Theology & Religion
Grace Ashworth (BA Political Science)
Rob Booth, Doctoral Researcher, Human Geography
Phil Child, former Research Fellow (Social Policy, Sociology & Criminology)
Noelia, PhD, Philosophy
Arooj Khan, Self funded PhD student, GEES
Ailsa Mummery, PGR Mechanical Engineering
Harriet Thomson, Senior Lecturer, Department of Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology
Gary Hilton/Exernal Relations
Dr Diletta De Cristofaro, Teaching Fellow, EDACS
Gianluca, PhD student/Economics
Christopher Featherstone, PhD candidate
Angus McCabe, Senior Fellow
Sara Jabbari, School of Mathematics
Chris Lea, IT Services
Stephen Pattison, Retired PTR
Vera Kubenz, Research Support Services
Ivan Rajic, Research Fellow, Business School
Andrew Olson, Senior Lecturer, Psychology
Francesco Antilici, Teaching Fellow, Department of Philosophy
Katharina Moser, Law School
Maria Witek, Senior Birmingham Fellow/Music
Alex Yates, undergraduate in POLSIS
Greg Salter, lecturer, Art History, Curating, and Visual Studies
Martha Robinson Rhodes, PhD student in History
Harriet Clarke, Senior Lecturer, Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology
Mark Summerfield, PS
David J. Bailey politics dept. Lecturer
Dr Luis Manuel Garcia, Lecturer, Music
Melina Delmas, PhD student
Mike Moore, UNISON & Library Services
Nathan Callanan / Philosophy BA Student
Neil Winkles, Systems Developer/IAHR
Zlati Ilchovska - TA in Psychology
Stephen Bates (Senior Lecturer, POLSIS)
Carl Jones, PhD student in POLSIS
Tom Cutterham, History
Lorenzo Costaguta, Teaching Fellow in US History, History
Jane Sjoberg, BIA
Joseph McGrory, Physics and Astronomy
Mary Connolly, Birmingham Law School 2nd year student
Masoumeh Mansouri, lecturer in computer science
Kristina Gruzdeva, PhD student
Valeria Agostini PhD student
Marie Allègre, PhD English Literature FT
Celine Hocquet, PhD student/Law School
Dr Stacy Gillis, Newcastle University
Javier Eskauriatza, Lecturer, BLS
C Boscolo, honorary lecturer modern languages
Wen-Yu Wu, PGR in Education
Lewis Jones, PhD student, music
Merisa Thompson, Lecturer/IDD
Professor Tony Dobbins, Business School
Louise Male. School of Chemistry.
Kelly Large, Tutor, Royal College Art (signing in support)
Elizabeth L'Estrange, Head of AHCVS
Kate Nichols, Art History, Curating and Visual Studies
Cosmin Minea, Visiting Lecturer, Department of Art History
Laurence Cooley, School of Government
Rhiannon Lockley, Branch Secretary, Birmingham City University
Ivan Rajic, Research Fellow, Business School
Rob Booth, Doctoral Researcher, Human Geography
Lewis Jones/PhD student, music
Masoumeh Mansouri, lecturer in computer science
Bircan Ciytak/ PhD student/ Social Policy, Sociology & Criminology
Mustafa Coban, PhD Student & PGTA
Matt Hayler, Senior Lecturer, English Literature
Tom Goodman, PGR & Chair of School of Computer Science SRSCC
Stewart Smyth, Senior Lecturer, Business School
Genevieve Coderre-LaPalme, Lecturer, Business School
Sanne Weber, Research Fellow, International Development Department
Grace Owen, PhD student, History
Nathaniel Barron, SPSC
Camilla Smith, Lecturer, History of Art
Mairead Enright, Law
Damian Cruse, Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology
Ioannis Azoidis, PhD student/chemical engineering
Hannah Boast, former Teaching Fellow, English Literature
Harriet Carroll, Research Fellow, Uni Aberdeen, Rowett Institute, AUCU Anti-Casualisation Officer
Rishita Nandagiri, LSE Fellow in Health and International Development
Matteo Falomi (fixed term teacher - Essex)
Emma Partlow
John Boadle
Anon, Postgraduate Researcher, College of Social Sciences
Anon, M4C Funded PhD Student in EDACS
Anon, Teaching Associate (Sociology) in the Department of Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology
Anon, School of Social Policy
Anon, PhD Candidate/PGTA, Department of POLSIS
Anon, PhD student in Modern Languages
Anon, Reader, Law
Anon, Laboratory Support Technician / GEES
Anon, School of Government
Anon, Social policy, sociology and criminology
Anon, Music PhD
Anon, Teaching Fellow, Drama
Anon, Visiting Lecturer
Anon, Retired life member
Anon, PhD student
Anon, PhD Student & PGTA
Anon, Library services
Anon, PhD SportEx
Anon, Teaching Fellow, CAHA
Anon, Teaching Fellow, Mathematics
Anon, Part-time self-funded PhD student
