Good morning.
University education has come a long way from the stereotype of drunken students and aloof, coddled lecturers. These days, students are tee-total eager beavers, desperate to justify their on average £45,000 debt, while their lecturers are more likely to be using food banks than supping on vintage port.
It is this hardship that has led university staff to become the latest group of workers to have begun industrial action in the UK. 70,000 lecturers, librarians and researchers across 150 universities are taking part in three days of strikes that could impact up to 2.5 million students. It’s potentially the biggest, but certainly not the first, strike in higher education. Staff have been complaining for years about burnout, stagnating wages, precarious working conditions, and pensions. And now the University and College Union (UCU) have said that their members have had enough.
The working conditions and poor pay have led to reports of junior academics on short-term contracts and low-paid members of staff like cleaners having to use food banks, while some of the institutions they work for hold billions of pounds in surplus, and pay senior administrators six-figure salaries.
These strikes will probably bring the sector to a standstill and for students who are in their final year of a university degree plagued by disruption from the pandemic, this will only further add to their woe. I spoke to the Guardian’s education editor, Richard Adams, about what has led to this moment. That’s right after the headlines.
Five big stories
NHS | Hospitals are facing the “perfect winter storm” following reports that there are 10 times more people being admitted to the hospital with the flu than this time last year. Data also revealed access to A&E was delayed by at least half an hour for almost a third of patients arriving by ambulance.
Immigration | Net migration has risen to a record high of 504,000 because of government schemes for Ukrainians and Hong Kongers, and a significant increase in international students. The figure is at least 400,000 higher than the government had been aiming for.
Child protection | A review into the murder of five-year-old Logan Mwangi by his mother, her partner and stepson has found there was a lack of care and curiosity around the challenges Logan was facing at home. The report noted that the issues raised in the case could be “systemic”.
Schools | A poll conducted by Unison found that a significant number of school support staff are helping students pay for food, stationery and uniforms, despite being among the lowest paid workers in the sector themselves.
Internet safety | The government has announced that nonconsensual “deepfake” pornography and explicit photography taken through hidden cameras, including “downblousing”, will be made illegal when the online safety bill returns to parliament next month. Those who share these images or videos could be jailed.
In depth: ‘The notion a professor does a bit of research and gets a nice paycheck is completely out of date’
As the landscape of higher education has changed, the UCU has become a more politicised union, that uses social media to mobilise its members. And its tactics have been successful. These strikes are potentially the biggest ever in the higher education sector – the UCU is the only education union so far that has been able to get a national mandate for a strike. Will this pressure be enough to provoke real change?
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Four years of friction
University staff have been in bitter disputes with upper management since 2018. The strikes initially erupted as a result of proposed cuts to pensions, but in the last two years the issues of precarious employment for young staff and low wages have become central complaints.
“When it was restricted to pensions only members who were part of the university superannuation scheme were affected,” Richard explains, meaning that the old polytechnics that became universities in 1992 and who are largely signed up to a different pension scheme had little reason to join the strikes. “It meant that it was really only an issue for the older universities. But this wave of strikes have got much wider leverage.”
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The marketisation of education
When £9,250 annual tuition fees were introduced, it was feared that enthusiasm for university education would wane among the young. If anything, the opposite has happened. In 2021, record levels of students were accepted into university – and yet universities have largely not increased staff numbers, leaving those employed horribly overworked. Meanwhile, others are worried about their entire departments being axed in line with government policy that seeks to cut “dead end courses” – often seen as humanity subjects that have less of a direct connection to onward employment.
The marketisation of higher education hasn’t just impacted the competition for students – it’s also changed the way that academics fund their research. “The notion that somebody who’s a lecturer or a professor gets a nice paycheck and just gives lectures and does a bit of research is completely out of date,” Richard says. “Academic careers are now very entrepreneurial and portfolio based.”
This is all while pay for academic staff has fallen 20% in real terms over the last decade – for staff who have joined the industry in this time, pay has been even worse with the introduction of the mass casualisation of employment in higher education – with only a lucky few given permanent, long-term contracts. “Marketisation has penetrated the institutions themselves,” Richard says.
Even though pay packets for most staff have not increased, those who are striking point to the rising wages of vice-chancellors (the principle academic and administrative position) who on average are paid £269,000 a year.
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List of demands
The UCU has been clear about what it wants for its members: a pay rise of 2% over inflation (RPI) or 12%, whichever ends up being higher; an end to casualisation and excessive workloads that lead to hours of unpaid labour; and action to end racial and gender inequality. Things have gotten so fraught that the UCU has said they are willing to strike again in the new year if universities do not meet their demands.
While many agree that this disruption is terrible for learning, the UCU has said that striking staff have the mass support of students, with the National Union of Students publicly backing the strikes. The Universities and Colleges Employers Association have said they are disappointed that it has come to this, however to many UCU members these strikes are just as much the universities’ choice as it is theirs.
There is a battle going on for the future higher education in the UK. One option would see it transform completely into a market-based system where each institution functions primarily as a business – which seems to be the current direction of travel. But there are those who still see the primary purpose for higher education not as profit, financial competition, or to provide a steady stream of “high-skilled workers”. Instead it is a space where people can innovate, learn, research, and yes – perhaps even enjoy the odd drink with friends. The reaction to these strikes will go a long way to determining which vision wins out.
What else we’ve been reading
It has been accepted that Cop27 failed to deliver - George Monbiot argues that it’s high time we all translated our demands into action. One way we can do that is through the use of a yucky but efficient new technology that could end our reliance on farming. Nimo
Nicola Kelly’s report from a vigil for 31 people who died in the Channel a year ago yesterday is heart-rending reading. “Their bodies are still lost at sea – we need to find them. The government says every refugee is welcome but no one has helped them,” said one attender whose uncle died was among those lost. Charlie Lindlar, production editor, newsletters
On a normal day, I’m not a massive football person. But I do love a good list, so I was nonetheless delighted by Tim Jonze’s ranking of the best World Cup goal celebration songs. Nimo
Judee Sill is gaining new audiences, writes Esme Blegvad, in this great piece about the 70s folk-rock singer’s beguiling, self-described “occult-holy-western-Baroque-gospel”, and a new documentary on her life. Hannah J Davies, deputy editor, newsletters
Ondi Timoner wrote a moving piece about recording her father’s final days for a documentary, and her role in helping him end his life. Nimo
World Cup
Cristiano Ronaldo, released from his contract by Manchester United earlier this week after clashing with manager Erik ten Hag, became the first male player to score in five World Cups on Thursday night, scoring a penalty as Portugal clung on to beat Ghana in a 3-2 thriller.
Tottenham forward Richarlison scored twice in the second half – including an “outrageous” bicycle kick – in Brazil’s comfortable 2-0 victory over Serbia. The South American side are always considered strong favourites, but appear to be the real deal early on. Elsewhere, Breel Embolo scored the only goal as Switzerland beat Cameroon 1-0, while Uruguay and South Korea dragged out a scoreless bore draw.
For all the latest on Qatar, from the scandal to the scores, sign up to Football Daily – our free, sometimes funny, newsletter
Other sport
Rugby | The Rugby Football Union has come under fire from MPs over the circumstances leading to the collapse of two top clubs. The digital, culture, media and sport select committee chair, Julian Knight, told the RFU chief executive that the demise of Worcester and Wasps was a “failure of epic scale”. “You have failed in this instance,” Knight added. “Should you not be looking at your own position?”
The front pages
“MPs urge investigation into PPE contracts after Mone revelations” – the lead story in the Friday print edition of the Guardian. The Financial Times has “Zelenskiy vows Ukraine will thwart Russia’s attacks on power networks”. “World sup!” – the Metro says England fans are about to drink three million pints (between them) watching England play the US in “their first ever winter Friday night World Cup match”. “First class disgrace” – the Daily Mirror says Royal Mail has “dished out £1.9bn to shareholders” yet “won’t budge on staff pay and plans job cull”. The top story in the Times is “Foreign students face ban from universities” while the i says “Student visa crackdown set to spark major Cabinet row”. The Daily Express seems amenable to the overall idea: “Suella vows to cut net migrant record of 504,000”. In the Telegraph the splash is “Johnson and Truss in planning rebellion”. The Daily Mail reports “GPs vote to shut doors at just 5pm”. The Sun promotes an “exclusive showbiz shocker” – “Walliams quits BGT” – and says it comes “after apology for foul remarks”.
Something for the weekend
Our critics’ roundup of the best things to watch, read and listen to right now
TV
Wednesday (Netflix)
With Christina Ricci having defined the part, Jenna Ortega (above) has the toughest of acts to follow as Wednesday Addams, expelled from school and sent to Nevermore Academy – the alma mater of her mother Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones). The series loses something by not setting her against normality, but it has wit, charm and propulsive energy. Lucy Mangan
Music
David Bowie – Divine Symmetry
We tend to think of 1971’s Hunky Dory as the moment David Bowie finally snapped into focus after years of false starts. The truth, as revealed by this beautifully packaged 4CD box set, subtitled An Alternative Journey Through Hunky Dory, appears to have been less straightforward – and there’s something curiously refreshing about that. Alexis Petridis
Film
Bones and All
Luca Guadagnino’s new film is an emo adventure in revulsion. Taylor Russell plays Maren, a shy, smart kid who is in fact a cannibal, and who falls in love with another: wiry, fragile, beautiful runaway called Lee, played by Timothée Chalamet. Bones And All is an extravagant and outrageous movie: scary, nasty and startling in its warped romantic idealism. Peter Bradshaw
Podcast
Where There’s a Will There’s a Wake
The gates of celebrity podcasting heaven have opened to unleash Kathy Burke, who asks stars including Diane Morgan and Jamali Maddix about their own ideal deaths. First up is Dawn French, with her demands for a see-through hearse, plans to leave her money to useless causes and afterlife as a passive-aggressive poltergeist. Dark comedy at its finest. Hannah Verdier
For more recommendations, sign up for What’s On, our free TV newsletter launching Monday 5 December
Today in Focus
Inside Qatar 2022: the World Cup of politics and protest
Football’s governing body Fifa has tried to keep politics out of the World Cup – but there has never been a more political tournament, reports Michael Safi in Doha
Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings
The Upside
A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad
Argentinian conservationists have celebrated the apparent return of a breed of wild giant otter that had been feared near extinct in the country.
Sebastián Di Martino, conservation director of Rewilding Argentina, spotted a male of the species by chance while kayaking in the El Impenetrable national park’s Bermejo River. Now, his group hopes the rediscovery presents a chance to rebuild the population of the animal, which can grow to almost 6ft long and weigh up to 30kg (66lb), by pairing him with a female giant otter living safely in the Iberá wetlands.
“If it succeeds, we can think of releasing them and having the first wild family of giant otters here after decades of extinction,” said Rewilding Argentina biologist Sofía Heinonen.
Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday
Bored at work?
And finally, the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until Monday.
