Lecturers at modern universities in the UK fear a “chipping away” of their working conditions in the current round of cost-cutting and redundancies, which could precipitate a “massive change” in what it means to be an academic.
Several institutions have been accused of devising plans that would breach national agreements including the “post-92 national contract” that outlines various rights lecturers, senior lecturers and principal lecturers should enjoy while working at the former polytechnics, and the 2004 national framework that introduced a uniform pay structure across the sector.
Post-92 universities have argued the agreements have become outdated and put them out of step with practices at other institutions.
But University and College Union (UCU) branches have begun organising to defend the frameworks, which they say prevent a “race to the bottom” in staff terms and conditions.
