A Queen’s University professor who confronted Vice Chancellor Ian Greer over pay and conditions says he was speaking up for staff with “no voice”.
In a video watched more than 20,000 times, Dominic Bryan berates Prof Greer about what the University and College Union says says has been real-term pay cuts for 15 years.
Prof Bryan, from the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, interrupted a "celebration" of Queen’s results in the Research Excellence Framework awards telling him “You can’t keep ignoring this problem” in a reference to the claim that Queen’s has failed to address concerns over mounting pressure on staff.
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The academic says he had grown increasingly frustrated at what he sees as inaction over continuing issues for staff at universities across the UK when he marched into the REF event last Thursday.
He says that having worked in his field for 22 years he has witnessed an increasing “marketisation” of universities with institutions vying for students and the funding they bring with them as well as academics employed on less favourable terms, in particular short-term contracts of as little as one or two years.
He told Belfast Live: “I appreciate many people may think the life of an academic is a rather nice one, but increasingly I see colleagues working 50 hour weeks and facing constant demands yet they are employed in contracts with a high degree of precarity.
"I spoke out, and I have received many, many messages of support since, because I am in a relatively secure position compared to people who are worried about their jobs.
“And it’s not just academic staff who are living in an increasingly stressful and difficult environment, it’s staff throughout the university.
"We are told that pay is set a national level, yet Queen’s is part of that process. If we even had an acknowledgement that there is a problem and that it needs to be addressed that would be a start.”
Prof Bryan added that as well as the pursuit of students, particularly international ones, to fund universities, academics are also under pressure to secure funding for research, leaving staff “increasingly agitated”.
He claimed that while only a certain number of staff will be seen on picket lines protesting against pay and conditions many more support the efforts of those on the picket line, but will not do so visibly due job security concerns.
A Queen’s University spokesperson said: “Although this is primarily a national dispute that the University cannot resolve unilaterally, Queen’s will continue to use its influence to shape and inform the national debate and remains committed to working in partnership with all trade unions on a range of issues at a local level.”
Sean O’Connell, the UCU membership Secretary at Queen’s, said UCU members are in dispute with management as a result of a range of issues.
He listed those as 14 years of "real terms" pay cuts; a 35% cut to pensions; gender pay inequality (females earn 18% less than males at Queen’s); “increased used of casualisation/short term contracts” and workload levels “that have had demonstrable negative consequences on university employees’s health”.
He added: “Our demands have been supported overwhelmingly in a referendum held by the Student Union. We’ve been supported by a Belfast City Council resolution. South Belfast MP Claire Hanna also visited us to speak on our support.
"The one group closing their ears to our demands are Queen’s senior management who despite their huge salaries - the VC earns over £300,000 and has just received a £9,000 pay rise - claim they are unable to exert any leadership on this issue.”
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