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As academics critique the world’s response to Coronavirus, we need to start a conversation about what’s been happening in our own back yard. How is our own Covid response impacting existing inequalities in our academic community? https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SqUMPxIop5OUyOqyPF5hcZ1nAioMYE_oE39UtlCtjh4/edit
So far, I’m disappointed. LSE is implementing a ‘hiring freeze’ on academic staff that includes ‘not renewing’ fixed-term contracts. We should be clear about what this means for our early career colleagues: in any other industry these would be called *redundancies*. 2/
The only reason they’re not thought of in this way is because our system already embeds precarity by design. It’s not unusual for early career academics to go year-to-year worrying if they will still have a job in September. Now many know the answer: they won’t. 3/
Meanwhile those of us with permanent contracts have amongst the most secure jobs in the world. This year I passed tenure. What does this mean in a nutshell? I could do no research (the main part of my job) for the rest of my career and I still wouldn’t get fired… 4/
(For sure the real problem for most senior academics is taking on too much, not slacking off. But let's be honest, we could all name a few…) 5/
We are taking no cuts to pay, while we let our junior colleagues take this hit. But what about our pensions: surely they’ll now be for the chop? Well yes, but how much USS pension can our junior colleagues look forward to, with no earnings and no prospects in academia? 6/
We’ve become so used to thinking of our early career colleagues as expendable, here this year gone the next, that we’ve stopped even seeing these impacts. We’re cutting adrift some of the most productive, innovative, diverse members of our community, and not even realised. 7/
I find it depressing that a profession that exists to turn a critical lens on the world, so often fails to turn that lens on ourselves. What good is lecturing governments, while we implement the very policies we are criticising, amongst ourselves? 8/
I’d rather there were no cuts to staff budgets. But if there must be, we need to talk about how they should be distributed. Non-renewals are redundancies. That’s why I’m happy to sign this petition, and willing – if necessary – to take a cut to my own pay to save these jobs. 9/
Let's also hope this can be the start of a new beginning that finally sees the two-tier system we've created - permanent or precarious - and asks for the long-term how we might change this. 10/ Ends.
Couple of clarifications: (1) I didn't write this petition, although I do fully endorse it (2) this has nothing to do with @kateesummers who has a contract to end-2021 and will be fine. For those wondering/asking.
