Duncan Moore, Plymouth Socialist Party and UCU member (personal capacity)
University and College Union (UCU) members in the Open University (OU) have secured permanent contracts for 4,800 teaching staff, the biggest decasualisation victory ever to take place in higher education.
These staff will now benefit from enhanced job security, a pay uplift of between 10-15%, additional annual leave, and staff development allowances.
Casualisation is now rife across the tertiary education sector, with 46% of universities and 60% of colleges using zero-hour contracts to deliver teaching, and 68% of research staff on short-term contracts, with many more reliant on short-term funding for their projects.
University bosses use fixed-term contracts to stretch their staff to breaking point, exploiting the competition for the preciously small number of permanent positions by piling on extra teaching and marking responsibilities.
The result is a toxic environment for staff, with one in five working up to 16 hours a week over their contracted hours, and most early-career academics having to reapply for their jobs and relocate to other institutions year after year. Little wonder that over half report signs of depression, a report by Education Support found last year.
This win for OU tutors comes after years of hard negotiations and struggle with the university bosses, with the branch membership growing in size and militancy since the strikes against regional centre closures in 2016.
Branches across the country can take confidence from this victory to push for the highest possible turnout in the national ballot over pay and conditions, which was launched on 10 August.
