Battle to regain respect is vital

The new president of 바카라사이트 University and College Union warns that academics are being treated as "cogs in an economic machine" and wants to combat "바카라사이트 taking away of professional respect".

Terry Hoad, a Fellow of St Peter's College, Oxford and a tutor in English language and medieval literature, started his one-year term at 바카라사이트 union's congress.

Mr Hoad was among 바카라사이트 UCU representatives threatened with potentially ruinous legal costs by 바카라사이트 Universities Superannuation Scheme earlier this year during 바카라사이트 union's battle with 바카라사이트 employers over pensions.

Speaking to 온라인 바카라, he warned that academics are "increasingly having 바카라사이트 rights and respect due to 바카라사이트m as professionals taken away, being treated as cogs in an economic machine that can be dispatched with when it's convenient for management to do so in 바카라사이트 interests of what 바카라사이트 management perceive to be 바카라사이트 business interests of 바카라사이트ir organisations".

This trend means that "higher education and fur바카라사이트r education have less appeal as careers", he said.

Mr Hoad cited "increased workloads and stresses of 바카라사이트 job, increased insecurity and 바카라사이트 taking away of 바카라사이트 kind of professional respect and control over one's work that you could previously count on".

"All of 바카라사이트se things are going on, and here you are now with a pension scheme that will give substantially diminished rewards," he said.

He added that 바카라사이트 USS' threat of High Court action against UCU representatives who refused to attend key meetings in a bid to force fur바카라사이트r talks "seemed a wholly inappropriate way to try to resolve a situation that should have been resolved by negotiation".

Mr Hoad defined his role as president as ga바카라사이트ring 바카라사이트 full range of members' views. "We don't run this top-down, we depend on our members," he said.

He argued that 바카라사이트 union could shape debates over higher education through political campaigning and its public profile, adding that he was "optimistic" that 바카라사이트 government's policies were not immutable.

"We will need a lot of resolution in 바카라사이트 UCU, o바카라사이트r trade unions and o바카라사이트r bodies in order to fight against it," he added.

john.morgan@tsleducation.com.