InQuire The University of Kent’s student publication
www.inquiremedia.org
Monday 14 February 2022 17.8
Students should be angry with senior management, not our striking staff By Anonymous
I
t has recently been announced by the University and College Union (UCU) that further strike measures will be taken by lecturers nationwide, including at the University of Kent in the coming term. These dates will be spread over three separate weeks, for a total of ten working days. The dates where students can expect disruption are as following: Monday 14 to Friday 18 February, Monday 21 to Tuesday 22, and Monday 28 February to Wednesday 2 March. There are also reports that further strikes may occur later in the year, potentially later in March. The disruption this industrial action will cause for students is huge, and the lack of responsibility taken by the university is extremely concerning. Since I arrived at Kent in 2019, there has not been a single term that has not been disrupted in one way or another by strikes or pandemic. This includes having endured strikes in the winter of 2019 and the spring of 2020, and it will be a similar story for this academic year. While this is happening, the university have stood firm in their opposition, and have refused to mandate any significant mitigation, either financially or academically. But the fact remains that the university must take responsibility for these strikes. The reason lecturers are taking part in industrial action is because of unfit working conditions. Most academics have poor pension plans, and many are on zero-hours or precarious contracts. The blame for this
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rests firmly with those in senior positions across UK higher education. Lecturers have suffered a 20% pay decrease over the last 10 years, and are facing cuts to their pensions of around 40%. At the same time, those senior workers in the executive group at the university have not been met with especially difficult financial problems. There are currently 41 members of staff that earn over £100,000 a year. And as recent as 2018, it was reported by KentLive that senior bosses at the university claimed almost £77,000 on expenses over a two-year
Photos by Kent Union period, the bulk of which was spent on flights abroad. Karen Cox, the Vice-Chancellor, receives a basic salary of £240,000 (before pension contributions). The Prime Minister’s salary is smaller. This salary is simply decadent when many academic staff are struggling to get by. As a third-year politics student, I cannot fathom why the university is still happy to let these strikes commence. They should be doing everything in their power to end the industrial action, and to ensure that students receive value for the money they are paying. For UK undergraduate students, as I am
treated as businesses rather than an education service. The people suffering from this mindset are everyone involved with the university, barring the select few in the Executive Group. The culture surrounding universities nationwide is now clearly one that prioritizes profit over everything else, ensuring that those at the top reap the benefits at the expense of its clients and employees. All students rely on university services to further our education, to help each of us become a more competitive individual in the labour market, but when you are not seen as the priority, the future begins to look bleak. This
business mindset has led many students to feel like they’re not being listened to. From the perspective of senior staff, everything is fine and dandy: they’ll still receive their paycheck. At the end of the day, the needs of their customers are of limited concern. Saying a lot while doing little seems to be senior staff's favoured approach to the crisis. While in the short term this may bode well for them as an evasion of accountability, there will come a time where they can no longer ignore the needs of both students and staff. If the university continues its stance of refusing to offer acceptable terms with the UCU, it’s likely that further action will be taken, which will eventually backfire. If the hard-line approach taken becomes synonymous with their running of services, it is extremely likely that eventually, staff will transfer to other universities with superior working conditions, and students may stop applying to study here. Students want to apply to universities where they feel that their best interests are paramount. This is clearly not currently the case. There also comes the financial impact that these strikes may have on students. Due to the huge costs of tuition fees, and the resulting debt due to these fees, you may have thought that the university may offer at least some monetary reimbursement should the services provided not be up to scratch... Continued on page 8. This is an opinion piece, and does not necessarily reflect the position of Kent Union. InQuire's leadership stands with striking staff.
Sport New Manager Bounce at Gillingham? By Samuel Leah Newspaper Sport Editor
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illingham have made a good start to life under new manager Neil Harris after a 1-0 win against fellow relegation rivals Crewe Alexandra. The Gills had been on a run of poor form; this being only their 4th league win of the season, their last win before this one coming in October 2021. They’ve remained in the relegation zone for the majority of this season, with previous manager Steve Evans leaving the club with the Gills sat 22nd in the table. Following his sacking former Gillingham manager Steve Lowell took charge on an interim basis, until Harris accepted the role and signed for the club on a two and a half year deal. It’s a case of familiar territory for Harris. The 44 year old enjoyed a successful loan spell here in his playing career, scoring 6 goals. In his official interview with the club, Harris stated that he treasured the time he had at the club, and that returning to Gillingham is a ‘privilege and an honour’. He previously had successes at his boyhood club, Milwall, where he became the club’s all time leading goal scorer as a player. He went on to spend 6 years in management at the club, with the under-23s and later the first team, leading the club to consecutive play off finals, promotion to the Championship, and reaching the quarter final stages of the FA Cup in the 2016/17 season. He joins Gillingham after being out of management for over a year... Continued on back page.
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sure you are aware, this comes to a total of £9,250 a year. It is even more for international students, the minimum cost at Kent currently being £17,400 for full-time students. The service received for these exorbitant prices is nowhere near satisfactory. Fees were initially brought in during Blair’s premiership, with the hope that this would allow universities to be better funded, which would encourage better investment and should result in more efficient services. This has clearly not been the case. It has instead led to them to now be
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