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Day: 18 November 2016

Over half of University of Manchester teaching staff on ‘precarious’ contracts

Written by Gemma Sowerby on . Posted in News.

Over half of teaching staff at the University of Manchester are on temporary, “insecure” contracts, according to new figures released this week by The Guardian. At the university, a reported 57.9 per cent of teaching or teaching-and-research staff are employed on this type of contract, which the University of Manchester University and College Union’s (UCU) branch secretary, Dr Adam Ozanne, calls “insecure [and] precarious”.

Russell Group universities fare the worst and rely the most on insecure workers according to the figures, which come from the Higher Education Statistics Agency and have been analysed by the University and College Union. The University of Birmingham is the worst offender, employing 70.3 per cent of their teaching staff on these contracts, despite the unveiling of a £500 million building project, and a £416,000 salary for their vice-chancellor, Sir David Eastwood.

Trade unionists, in response to The Guardian investigation, have accused Vice-Chancellors of “importing the Sports Direct model” into British universities, while the National Union of Students has expressed concern that students may not be receiving quality education, despite paying up to £9,000 a year in tuition fees.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the UCU, described “a reserve army of precarious and exploited labour,” adding: “Many universities are hacking up teaching jobs into ever smaller bits and shoving people on to the worst contract they can get away with.”

The University of Manchester University and College Union has told The Mancunion: “The Guardian article highlights the growing inequalities in pay and the insecure, precarious nature of employment for many staff working in this and other universities. As such, I am sure all UCU members in the University will welcome it.”

However, the Universities and Colleges Employers Association, the lobby group for university employers, argued: “It is essential that universities retain the ability to operate with part of their workforce in a flexible mode to enable them to respond to changes in demand. The variability in student enrolments on programmes, and features of academic life such as sabbaticals and research leave for permanent staff, mean that fixed-term opportunities to teach, generally for a year or a semester, are made available.”

Responding to the claims, a University of Manchester spokesperson said: “Using a blunt headcount of staff is an inaccurate way of representing the reality of this picture. The University employs many specialists who teach students for part of their course and also employs people to cover staff on research sabbaticals or to work on research projects which are externally funded for a set period of time.

“Manchester is committed to investing in its employees and therefore delivering the best possible service to students. In our most recent staff survey 92 per cent of staff stated they were proud to work at the University, the highest proportion in the sector.”

City University students vote to ban the Sun, Mail and Express

Written by Jennifer Sterne on . Posted in News.

In a motion to “oppose fascism”, City University of London’s Students’ Union have voted to ban the sale of The Sun, the Daily Mail, and the Daily Express on campus.

This motion is particularly embarrassing for the university, as they are one of the most respected journalism schools in the country, from which many graduates go on to work for the publications in question.

The university’s Students’ Union voted to ban the three newspapers, “in their current form”, under the motion of “opposing fascism and social divisiveness in the UK media”.

The motion made clear that these papers may not be the last to be banned, and that they were “merely used as high-profile examples”.

The Union’s motion claimed that the papers “published stories that demonise refugees and minorities”, and that the Daily Express and Daily Mail mirrored “Nazi propaganda” in “undermining the rule of law in the UK”.

The Union believe, as outlined in the motion, that the papers “actively scapegoat the working classes”and “publish stories that are sexist”. They add that “freedom of speech should not be used as an excuse to attack the weakest and poorest members of society.”

Aside from the ban, the motion also resolves to promote “the active pressuring of the aforementioned media outlets to cease to fuel fascism, racial tension and hatred in society.”

In a statement Yusuf Ahmad, City University London Students’ Union President said: “A motion titled ‘Opposing Fascism & Social Divisiveness in the UK Media’ was debated and passed by the members in the Annual General Meeting.  The Union is currently unaware of any outlets on campus selling the mentioned media publications.  As with all motions, the Union will be considering how it implements this.”

Professor Suzanne Franks, Head of the Department of Journalism at City, commenting on the issue, cited her departments place “as a leader in its field, with an unrivalled record of helping graduates secure attractive employment in both traditional and emerging journalist roles”.

She added that students on the course “value being able to access the views of publications and broadcasters across the industry and the Department will continue to enable all these opportunities.”

According to The Guardian some journalism students have threatened to pull out of the Union in protest against the decision.

The Mancunion spoke with some MA Magazine students at the university about their responses to news of the ban.

Rebecca Hastings told The Mancunion that she understands “why people are concerned about censorship” but argued that “the bottom line is that the more the general public can do to undermine these kind of newspapers the better.”

Hastings added: “They’re more dangerous now than ever, and as a multicultural university, we need to protect minorities, and if that means banning the kind of vitriol these newspapers come out with, I don’t have a problem with it.”

Another student, Alys Key, thinks “it highlights a divide between the journalism department and the university in general.” She claimed that postgraduate students “often pass up the opportunity to get involved with the SU” because of time constraints and that “unfortunately the result is that we don’t get heard in meetings.”

Nick Earl is opposed to the ban, as he believes “publications available to us at university have to be as diverse in opinion as possible, otherwise how can we pretend to be an institution of free thought and inquiry?”

Earl acknowledged that while “some people may find the views expressed by the papers in question to be distasteful […] it can’t escape notice that it is only non-left publications that are given such censure, by indulgent, spoilt millenials who bandy the words racist and fascistic around like they are candy to the point of no meaning.”

Mancunion editorial applications open

Written by Jennifer Sterne on . Posted in News.

We have four section editor openings for a deputy news editor, a head and deputy food editor and a games editor at The Mancunion.

All current students are welcome to apply, applications will be open until noon on Friday 25th of November. Successful applicants will begin in their role in the next academic term, however there will be training for the role before the end of this term. This is your chance to work for the biggest student newspaper in the country and gain authentic journalism experience.

Applications are open here. 

The experience you will gain working for a student print publication will be invaluable and enhance your CV immeasurably. Previous section editors have gone on to careers in the national press, public relations, and broadcast journalism.

All current students at the University of Manchester are able to apply and you don’t necessarily have to have worked for The Mancunion before — our only requirement is a demonstrable passion for journalism.

To apply, please fill in the application form in the link above. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact: [email protected].

If you become part of The Mancunion team you will also be welcomed under The Manchester Media Group umbrella and have opportunities to expand your journalism into not just print but also TV and radio through Fuse FM and Fuse TV. If none of that is enough to tempt you into joining us, we also quite like a social and promise that your year in student media will be unforgettable.

All section editors are expected to work diligently with the rest of Editorial Team to ensure the paper produced weekly is to a consistently high standard.

The role does require a significant amount of time to be committed, but will be highly valued by employers. We will also work to help you manage your time effectively to ensure you’re able to create a balance between university work and your editorial commitments.

Section editors are required to run weekly meetings for contributors to attend and pitch stories. They must act as mentors for their contributors and work to engage them in The Mancunion and help them to improve their writing and understanding of journalism. After distributing the articles for that week they must then work to ensure all the content is submitted to our sub editors on time. They then must use InDesign, which they will get thorough training in prior to the first print deadline, to layout their section ready from print every Friday.

Overall we ask that all section editors work enthusiastically and passionately throughout the year to ensure all the editorial staff feel supported and part of a strong team. Our aim is to create quality journalism in an inspiring environment

 

The Piccadilly wall is coming down

Written by Harry Newton on . Posted in News.

Manchester City Council have released plans for Piccadilly Garden to be regenerated as part of a £10million plan.

Landowners of Piccadilly Gardens Legal & General revealed the plans, created by Urban Edge and landscapers LDA, showing the replacement of the infamous grey wall surrounding the Gardens with a set of restaurants and a bar.

The bar and restaurants will be part of the modern architecture that will be made of wood, flint, and glass. The council aim to have family-friendly restaurants on the bottom floor, and a bar on the first floor, which will also have a roof terrace to enjoy Manchester’s glorious three-day Summer on.

Photo: Wojtek Gurak @Flickr

The Gardens have been criticised by the local community in recent years after the 2002 regeneration of the Gardens were deemed inadequate. In the last six months, the Manchester Evening News gathered 20,000 signatures on a petition urging the council to change the Gardens, which appears to have been successful.

The target for most of the abuse from Mancunians has been the grey wall surrounding the Gardens. The wall has without doubt been an eye-sore, especially on a wet day. It was initially put in place to prevent noise travelling from the transport hub next to the Garden into the plaza itself, but instead it has diminished the appearance of the Gardens itself.

Photo: Paul Holloway @Flickr

As part of the plans footpaths will be re-laid, extra seating will be added along with more trees, and additional lighting will be put in place for the dark evenings when the Gardens have previously seen an increase in anti-social behaviour. The children’s play area will be separated from the rest of the gardens by a flowered partition.

In order to pay for all this work, Legal & General will be funding most of the project, as they have a long-term lease on the current wall and property surrounding it. They will supply the council with £1.3million by leasing a slightly bigger footprint than they do at the moment.

There will also be £700,000 spent on improving the gardens and an extra £8million that will see the wall tumble, and the total reach £10million. Two electronic advertising boards will also be put in place, that are expected to bring in an additional £50,000 per year for maintenance.

Council leader Sir Richard Leese said that it was time for change: “We recognise that there are aspects which have proved unpopular and others where there is scope for improvement, including design improvements to deter anti-social behaviour and enhancing our own ongoing maintenance of the space.”