Today sees the third day of the biggest strike in the history of higher education, with over 70,000 university staff taking strike action over pay, working conditions, and pensions. University and College Union (UCU) members are also taking action short of a strike (ASOS) on an ongoing basis until further notice.
I don’t normally comment on industrial action. I find that there is often very little nuance in the discussion with many of my fellow travellers on the free market side of things being generally very against strikes, mainly because of memories of the 70s and 80s. Those on the left, unsurprisingly, tend to uncritically support strikes regardless of their merits. In reality it is obviously a bit more complicated than that and probably one of the (many) reasons why the economy is in such a mess is because workers in some sectors have too little power (I’ll probably write something on this next year).
However, despite all this and the massive disruption it will cause to students, I believe the UCU strikes are justified. What is more, I have a personal interest in all this and it links with the main theme of this blog (the UK in decline and how to reverse it).
My personal interest comes from having worked in academia. This is not me asking for more money though, my position is quite unique as I’m technically a fellow at an elite institution and have a very flexible arrangement. What is more, I’m not dependent upon it for my livelihood. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many of my friends, colleagues, and thousands of other young academics. These are people who are dedicated to their subject and providing a high quality education to their students, but who are forced to do so on very little pay with irregular hours and a lack of security for the future.
This will of course lead to massive disruption for students. This is particularly troubling as they have already seen their education disrupted and spent what should have been some of the best years of their lives locked in their rooms. Unfortunately, the striking academics who I have spoken with clearly have no other choice, and they are right to take action.
In my first blog post I wrote that if we want to reverse the UK’s economic decline and improve the prospects of young people, then our universities are essential. They play a vitally important role in producing the innovative new ideas which have the potential to lead to breakthroughs in science, economics, engineering, medicine, and technology which have the potential to boost economic growth and improve all of our lives. What is more, they train and equip the next generation of academics, scientists, and leaders.
The UK is home to some of the world’s greatest universities and will no doubt continue to attract top quality academics due to their reputation and prestige. However, this prestige will slip and we will find it harder to attract top talent if pay remains so low, especially at the junior end. The very best will simply move to our competitors abroad such as the US, Europe, and Asia. We will begin to see a vicious cycle where the reputation and prestige of even our very best universities such as Oxbridge, Imperial, and the LSE will begin to diminish, making it even harder to attract high quality academics and students, which will further damage their reputation. Our universities are one of our greatest exports and are a real British success story, but we’re at risk of destroying them and exacerbating the country’s economic woes in the process.
The decline of our universities would also widen regional inequality. There is a great deal of evidence which shows that universities help to bring economic growth to their towns and cities as well as improving human capital as well as bringing talented people from all over the world. If we want to level up the country then we need a thriving University sector.
I’m also concerned about what it will do for social mobility. We’re pretty rubbish at social mobility in the UK as it is, and destroying the university sector would make things even worse. Universities play an important role in social mobility, with the less prestigious ‘post-1992’ universities playing the biggest role. These universities are often condemned by the press as ‘degree factories’ but young people attending them end up earning far more money than they otherwise would have done. In short, they are crucial for social mobility.
On a related note, I also worry that a career in academia will become the preserve of those from wealthy backgrounds. Academia is already very difficult to break into, especially at the elite level. You would have got top marks from a prestigious university at undergraduate and masters level, then worked on very little pay on variable hours as a research assistant, then accepted into another elite school for your doctorate. You’ll then face low pay and precarity as a lecturer as you attempt to meet all your teaching commitments as well as working on your own research so that you can climb the greasy pole and get tenure. It is already hard enough for people from working class backgrounds to do all of this as it is, if things continue then it will become even harder.
Moreover, academia is just not seen as an aspirational career for many people from a working class background. I grew up in a single parent household on a council estate near Huddersfield and a career in academia never even crossed my mind. My brother was the first person in our family history to go to university and with the exception of my teachers, he was the only person I knew who had gone to university. I certainly didn’t know anyone who had become an academic. Thankfully both my parents placed a premium on education and my teachers were great (for the most part), but becoming something like a doctor or a lawyer seemed so much more aspirational (not least of all because they pay well and are secure). I wound up doing neither and after a few twists and turns I found myself in academia, but my path was unusual and has always been something I’ve done on the side.
We know that in the US, and in economics in particular, people pursuing a doctorate tend to have parents who also have a doctorate. I imagine it’s similar in the UK for the reasons already explained. If low wages and insecurity continue then the divide between people from poorer backgrounds and wealthy backgrounds will become even greater with working class people excluded from academia altogether.
Our universities are on the country’s greatest assets. However, we are in danger of causing irreversible damage to them and our economy in the process all while entrenching inequality and hampering social mobility. We need to increase funding for universities and colleges and ensure that university staff get a decent wage.