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I’m not feeling great today so missing out on the picket this morning - thought I’d share some reflections on why this strike is so important to me instead. As a postdoc on a FT contract with a year to go, I’m a lot more secure than many precarious colleagues.
Of course before this job I had four years of dealing with hourly paid work, rubbish GTA conditions, HR messing up contracts - all of that. As a result of not being paid properly on a regular basis I ended up in a lot of debt, which I’m still trying to get on top of.
I come from a working class family and although I get amazing emotional support from my parents, they’ve never been in a position to help me financially. So the idea that the work I was doing during my PhD was ‘development’ was nonsense:it was necessary for me to pay rent and eat
Getting this postdoc after my PhD was fantastic, a full time post at Glasgow, I couldn’t have been more delighted. But now I’m very aware that even though the project I’m working on will continue until at least March 2022, my contract funding end date is next December.
I’m still unsure whether it will be legal to make me redundant then given that the work will still be going on, whether i will be unemployed by next Christmas or my contract will be extended, or perhaps all of the research team will have to go into a redundancy pool.
The impact of this on my mental & physical health is considerable. I’ve had health issues recently which are still undiagnosed but seem to be linked to/triggered by stress.The dentist yesterday told me I need a mouth guard because I’m grinding my teeth - ‘probably stress related’
I’ve been told throughout my career so far in academia that I’m a good researcher, good at building relationships, a good writer, a good teacher, a collegial member of whatever team I’ve been part of. I don’t think I could do anymore to fit in and prove myself as capable.
But none of this seems enough to offer me job security. I’m 35 and not even in a position to think about whether we want to try and have a baby because we couldn’t afford it if I lose my income next year. Worrying about keeping on top of mortgage and debt repayments is enough.
So I’m no longer at the sharpest end of casualisation, but in some ways this feels worse because there has been an acceptance that this is just the life you have to live if you want to work in academia. I just know I won’t be able to manage that long term.
My only hope is that this is a moment where those of us in similar positions start to properly fight back. Hopefully fully supported by those who were lucky enough not to have to navigate this current situation, or maybe have the financial cushion to help them.
This is why this #UCUstrike means so much to me. I have felt very disconnected from my union in the past, but things feel different now and I am trying to play an active role in this change.I want to feel pride in working for my institution but that requires security and respect.
This was obviously a pretty self-indulgent exercise but I know there are many others in similar boats, and if it helps make those connections that’s great, and even better if it makes someone in a position of power think things should be done differently 
