GCU Students continue to support Lecturers’ Action

The Executive Committee of the GCU Students association today issued a statement in support of the continuing action by lecturers for Fair Pay.

In a statement on their blog they said:

“The Students’ Association Executive Committee (Full time officers) believe fair pay is crucial in improving the student experience by ensuring the University attracts excellent staff who are happy and motivated in their roles; providing them with good working conditions is vital for maintaining a healthy workforce.

This has a direct impact on students as staff who are under-appreciated and over-worked are less likely to function well and more likely to fall victim to stress or other illnesses. Both of these consequences are more likely to have a disruptive and detrimental impact on student learning than an isolated day of strike action.

The Executive Committee have taken the following position:

‘The Executive Committee supports the industrial action by campus trade unions, on the condition that they engage with students and commit to examining alternative forms of industrial action that focus more on disrupting the institution and not students [as NUS Scotland are doing nationally], and that the Executive Committee seek the views of the wider student body at the next meeting of Student Voice to determine the position of GCU Students’ Association in terms of any future industrial action [i.e., that takes place after Student Voice]’”.

Said Douglas Chalmers, President of the UCU@GCU: “We are very grateful for the continuing support of the students, in a difficult time, and we hope that with enough pressure from staff and students alike throughout the country, we can come to a sensible and quick conclusion to this action – on the basis of a fair pay settlement”

The students’ full statement can be found on their blog here

Meanwhile, staff are preparing for an additional extended break in the Students Bistro, today from 2pm till 4pm during part of which local unison member Eddie McKean will donate his lunch break to doing a session of standup comedy for staff and students…. watch this space.