Lecturers strikes

[Guest55]

I thought lecturers were paid less than teachers. It's the VCs that get mega bucks.

[Amber]

I do some lecturing and tutoring (masters level). The pay is a joke and is far less than I got as a teacher. It is even less than my children have been paid in some of their jobs. The dispute is not about pay though.

[Guest55]

I know - I was responding to the previous post.

Their job security is nowhere near that of a teacher either - how do the pensions compare?

[Amber]

I know - I was responding to the previous post.

Their job security is nowhere near that of a teacher either - how do the pensions compare?

I have no job security at all. Lecturers now are mostly employed on temporary short term contracts. I have no pension scheme via my employer as I am not regarded as staff. I think people who have been there longer do better.

[petit-pois]

My apologies then Amber and Guest 55!

[Guest55]

No worries - you always hear about the VCs pay not those who actually teach/lecture. I was offered a job in Teacher training but couldn't afford the drop in salary.

[mad?]

I know - I was responding to the previous post.

Their job security is nowhere near that of a teacher either - how do the pensions compare?

I thought they were badly paid as well, but on the Radio 5 news yesterday their representative said many of them were facing a pension cut of £10k per year which implies the pensions must be very generous and the pay can't be that bad either. I suspect he was using this figure to illustrate a point and that most of them have pensions or pay nowhere near this generous. It back fired a bit though, there followed a stream of people 'phoning in astonished that anyone still had a pension large enough to lose £10K p.a of it and have anything left

[Amber]

My apologies then Amber and Guest 55!

Not at all.

My daughter is at an affected uni and is really upset by it. One or two of her lecturers aren't striking and are meeting students in cafes. She has huge respect for the ones who are taking action - they have given an open meeting to explain their position. At the same time, she says the fees she is paying are massive and she expects to be taught. On the other hand as I work in HE as well as being a student myself, I know that it is not a picnic for many staff. My sympathies are split, but as a mother I really want her lecturers to go back to work very soon.

[MrsChubbs]

Ditto here Amber. Potentially losing 40 hours of contact time. The uni has already changed one practical assessment that is not going to happen to 100% exam. DS quite stressed about it whilst understanding their reasoning. Keeps asking me how he is going to make up the lost lectures and practical time. He excels at the practical assessment side and it brings up his overall marks, so he feels it is really going to affect his degree.

[Surferfish]

I thought they were badly paid as well, but on the Radio 5 news yesterday their representative said many of them were facing a pension cut of £10k per year which implies the pensions must be very generous and the pay can't be that bad either.

The existing pensions are likely to be very generous. That is because they are defined benefits (also known as final salary) pensions where the recipient is guaranteed a set income on retirement based on the number of years they've been working. If they've been working for 40 years they might typically get 40/60 (66%) multiplied by their salary on retirement which is actually very good.

These types of pensions were common everywhere 20/30 years ago. They still exist in the public sector (NHS, education etc), however they have been pretty much scrapped by all companies in the private sector because they have become completely unsustainable. Due to much lower interest rates for investments and the fact that people are living longer the amount which was paid into the final salary scheme is nowhere near enough to cover what needs to be paid out on retirement. Instead most private companies now offer defined contribution schemes where a set percentage of salary is paid into the scheme each month and invested, and then whatever is built up at retirement age is used to fund retirement. So over your working life you might build up a fund of £200k which sounds a lot, but if you live for another 20 years its only £10k a year, a lot less than what people on final salary schemes would enjoy.

If your lucky enough to receive a generous final salary pension from the public sector you have to understand that the money to fund it has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere will ultimately be from the pockets of the younger working generation. This younger generation are likely to be paying off huge university fee debts and massive mortgages and will probably end up having to work well into their 70's, rather than retiring in their 60's with their mortgages paid off and a nice fat pension like the current generation of university lecturers feel is their right to do.