{"id":684,"date":"2023-02-24T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-24T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=684"},"modified":"2023-03-10T12:45:17","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T12:45:17","slug":"aberystwyth-university-affected-by-ucu-strikes-lecturers-and-students-give-their-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/blog\/aberystwyth-university-affected-by-ucu-strikes-lecturers-and-students-give-their-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"Aberystwyth University Affected by UCU strikes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n

Written by Jude Lince, translated by Iestyn Knox<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n\n

<\/b> Scroll down for Welsh<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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This week saw some Aberystwyth University staff on strike once again as part of nationwide strikes by the Universities and College Union (UCU).<\/p>\n

This follows similar UCU action that has taken place on at least one day per week since the 1st of February, with picket lines being seen at some entrances to the University campus.<\/p>\n

Some striking lecturers spoke to Mouth of the Ystwyth reporters at a TeachOut event in Athro Lounge on the 14th of February. There, they stated that a lack of contract security was a driving factor behind the decision to strike, with many \u2018casualised staff\u2019 being on unstable contracts.; One lecturer lamented having been on \u2018precarious contracts\u2019 throughout their academic career, while another compared the state of academia to a \u2018gig economy\u2019. A perceived lack of compensation for a high workload was also highlighted. Lecturers claimed that they are forced to complete some work outside of paid hours, with one stating that \u2018we are not being paid for all the work that we do\u2019.\u202f<\/p>\n

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Athro Lounge – the site of the latest TeachOut event<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lecturers expressed their sympathy with students amid the university strikes. One lecturer stressed that going on strike is not an easy choice, saying, \u2018every time a module is disrupted by strike action, it is painful\u2019. However, it was emphasised that many lecturers view such action as a necessity. One stated that they are \u2018striking for the future of the sector\u2019 and asserted that the current situation in academia \u2018could not carry on.\u2019 Gratitude was offered toward student support for strikes, with another lecturer saying that students \u2018are welcome on picket lines.\u2019<\/p>\n

The impact of strikes on students has been varied; while some students have been virtually unaffected, others have lost considerable amounts of learning time. One geography student, when approached for comment, called the situation \u2018stressful\u2019, and recalled being told early in the semester that \u2018most of their classes would be canceled. They went on to note that they have had to \u2018teach themselves how to use software\u2019 and that \u2018information on how to do this has not been fully released.\u2019 Despite this, they clarified that they \u2018support the strikes\u2019, and empathised with university staff who have been \u2018overloaded with work\u2019. They suggested that the University should \u2018allocate more staff\u2019 to reduce individual workloads.<\/p>\n\n

A student of the Department of English & Creative Writing expressed similar sentiments. Despite having \u2018missed out on crucial learning time\u2019, they said that they were \u2018behind the strikes\u2019, opining that the working conditions of university staff \u2018do not reflect [the] incredibly important job\u2019 that they carry out.<\/p>\n

One member of staff at the Student Union declined to comment personally; however, the SU\u2019s official stance is now in support of strikes, as voted on by students at the Union\u2019s Annual General Meeting on the 20th of February. An SU student rep was also approached for comment but has not responded at the time of writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Cymraeg<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Yr wythnos\nhon gwelwyd rhai o staff Prifysgol Aberystwyth ar streic eto fel rhan o\nstreiciau cenedlaethol gan Undeb y Prifysgolion a Cholegau (UCU).<\/span><\/span><\/p>

Mae hyn yn dilyn camau tebyg gan UCU sydd wedi digwydd ar\no leiaf un diwrnod yr wythnos ers 1 Chwefror, gyda llinellau piced i’w gweld\nwrth rai mynedfeydd i gampws y Brifysgol.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>

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Siaradodd rhai o\u2019r\ndarlithwyr sy\u2019n streicio \u00e2 gohebwyr Mouth of the Ystwyth mewn digwyddiad\nTeachOut yn yr Athro Lounge ar y 14eg o Chwefror. Yno, dywedasant mai diffyg\nsicrwydd contract oedd y ffactor a ysgogodd y penderfyniad i streicio, gyda\nllawer o \u2018staff a oedd wedi\u2019u halltudio\u2019 ar gontractau ansefydlog. Roedd un\ndarlithydd yn galaru ei fod wedi bod ar \u2018gontractau ansicr\u2019 drwy gydol ei yrfa\nacademaidd, tra bod un arall yn cymharu cyflwr ariannol y byd academaidd ag\n\u2018economi gig\u2019. Amlygwyd hefyd ddiffyg iawndal canfyddedig am lwyth gwaith\nuchel. Honnodd darlithwyr eu bod yn cael eu gorfodi i gwblhau rhywfaint o waith\ny tu allan i oriau cyflogedig, gydag un yn nodi, \u2018nid ydym yn cael ein talu am\nyr holl waith a wnawn\u2019.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

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Mynegodd darlithwyr eu cydymdeimlad \u00e2 myfyrwyr yng nghanol streiciau\nprifysgol. Pwysleisiodd un darlithydd nad yw mynd ar streic yn ddewis hawdd,\ngan ddweud, \u2018bob tro yr amharir ar fodiwl gan streicio, mae\u2019n boenus\u2019. Fodd\nbynnag, pwysleisiwyd bod llawer o ddarlithwyr yn gweld gweithredu o’r fath yn\nanghenraid. Dywedodd un eu bod yn \u2018trawiadol ar gyfer dyfodol y sector\u2019 a\nhaerodd \u2018na allai\u2019r sefyllfa bresennol yn y byd academaidd barhau.\u2019 Diolchwyd i\ngefnogaeth myfyrwyr ar gyfer streiciau, gyda darlithydd arall yn dweud bod\ncroeso i fyfyrwyr ar linellau piced.\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>

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Mae effaith streiciau ar fyfyrwyr wedi bod yn amrywiol; tra bod rhai\nmyfyrwyr bron heb eu heffeithio, mae eraill wedi colli cryn dipyn o amser\ndysgu. Pan ofynnwyd iddo am sylw, galwodd un myfyriwr daearyddiaeth fod y\nsefyllfa\u2019n \u2018dan straen\u2019, ac roedd yn cofio cael gwybod yn gynnar yn y semester\ny byddai \u2018rhan fwyaf o\u2019u dosbarthiadau\u2019n cael eu canslo\u2019. Aethant ymlaen i nodi\neu bod wedi gorfod \u2018addysgu eu hunain sut i ddefnyddio meddalwedd\u2019 ac \u2018nad yw gwybodaeth\nar sut i wneud hyn wedi\u2019i rhyddhau\u2019n llawn\u2019. Er gwaethaf hyn, gwnaethant egluro\neu bod yn \u2018cefnogi\u2019r streiciau\u2019, ac yn cydymdeimlo \u00e2 staff y brifysgol sydd\nwedi\u2019u \u2018gorlwytho \u00e2 gwaith\u2019. Awgrymwyd y dylai\u2019r Brifysgol \u2018ddyrannu mwy o\nstaff\u2019 i leihau llwythi gwaith unigol.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

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Mynegodd myfyriwr o’r\nAdran Saesneg ac Ysgrifennu Creadigol deimladau tebyg. Er eu bod wedi \u2018colli\namser dysgu hollbwysig\u2019, dywedasant eu bod \u2018y tu \u00f4l i\u2019r streiciau\u2019, gan farnu\nnad yw amodau gwaith staff prifysgol \u2018yn adlewyrchu [y] swydd hynod bwysig\u2019 y\nmaent yn ei chyflawni.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

\n<\/p>

Gwrthododd un aelod o staff Undeb y Myfyrwyr wneud sylw personol; fodd\nbynnag, mae safiad swyddogol Undeb y Myfyrwyr bellach yn cefnogi streiciau, fel\ny pleidleisiwyd arno gan fyfyrwyr yng Nghyfarfod Cyffredinol Blynyddol yr Undeb\nar yr 20fed o Chwefror. Cysylltwyd hefyd \u00e2 chynrychiolydd myfyrwyr UM am\nsylwadau ond nid yw wedi ymateb ar adeg ysgrifennu hwn.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lecturers and Students give their perspective<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":708,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":894,"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684\/revisions\/894"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbiw.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}