{"id":48931,"date":"2019-08-06T04:28:16","date_gmt":"2019-08-06T11:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=48931"},"modified":"2019-08-06T04:28:16","modified_gmt":"2019-08-06T11:28:16","slug":"ways-to-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/ways-to-help\/","title":{"rendered":"Ways to help"},"content":{"rendered":"

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How do you help and support your precariat colleagues?<\/p>\n

At Research Whisperer, we engage a lot with issues of precarity and casualisation. We think it\u2019s a huge issue that needs urgent address in academia, and it\u2019s a global problem.<\/p>\n

We were recently invited to speak to casuals at an NTEU Victoria event where I talked about maintaining a consistent researcher profile while being part of the precariat, and Jonathan spoke on how to get\u00a0research funding as a casual<\/a>. We acknowledge from the start that while we focus on individual strategy and knowledge the issues of precarity are systemic and heavily embedded in our sector.<\/p>\n

One of the things that I wanted to write about after the event was how those of us in more secure employment can help in this bleak landscape of increasing casualisation, and exclusionary and inequitable institutional dynamics.<\/p>\n

Those who are in casual or fixed-term appointments are less likely and able to advocate within the academic system. Short (often multiple, simultaneous) contracts and insecurity mean that it is difficult to build momentum in fighting for equitable conditions and opportunities. That is why actions like joining a union (like the\u00a0NTEU<\/a>\u00a0in Australia) can shift the action to an organisation that has more traction and resources in the system. The NTEU and the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA<\/a>) created the\u00a0Uni Casual<\/a>\u00a0website to inform and agitate for change.<\/p>\n

Just recently, universities in my state (Victoria, Australia) published data that shows the extent of casualisation in our universities \u2013\u00a0it\u2019s quite shocking<\/a>. These figures are for those on casual contracts, and doesn\u2019t count those on short fixed-term contracts (who I would also consider part of the precariat workforce).<\/span><\/p>\n

Inger Mewburn wrote about\u00a0concrete things that full-time academics can do to help their casual colleagues<\/a>, and Eli Thorkelson wrote\u00a0this excellent thread<\/a>\u00a0about how stably-employed scholars can support their precariously employed peers.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples from their pieces:<\/p>\n

INGER:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cMake sure casuals get paid on time: every time I hire someone, I have to be on top of people higher in the management chain, and HR, to make sure the process is moved forward quickly. People should not have to start work without being paid \u2013 but it\u2019s sadly routine. Oh, and while you\u2019re at it \u2013 don\u2019t take up their time with corridor meetings and \u2018quick catch ups\u2019 that amount to another hour or two of unpaid work each week. It\u2019s not cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

ELI:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cDo invite precarious folks to come talk about their work. A lot of it is really important, solid, serious research that just happens not to be anchored to a legible title. (Pay up front for their travel.)\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTreat every academic administrator, service worker, IT worker, student affairs worker, campus gardener, bookkeeper, student worker, intern, TA, postdoc, etc, as if they were truly your colleague and deserved your full respect. Make sure other faculty people do this too.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I am in a secure role right now, having had a series of fixed-term and casual contracts previously. I\u2019m fully on board with what Inger and Eli suggest, and would add the following:<\/p>\n