Supervisors win pay for mandatory departmental training

The University has agreed to pay supervisors for training mandated by their departments, Cambridge UCU revealed yesterday (9/05).

The campaign

All supervisors are mandated by the Senior Tutors Committee and the General Board to undertake five hours of CCLT training before beginning to teach. This is currently unpaid because the university maintains that it should be Colleges rather than the central university that pays for this training, and colleges have refused to do so.

Some Faculties and Departments also require supervisors to undertake additional training. In some departments, this training is unpaid.  Cambridge UCU have been fighting against the lack of payment for training since 2018. 

💥 WE HAVE A FIRST WIN ON PAID TRAINING 💥

Today the Uni confirmed that they will draft guidance that mandates Faculties to pay for supervision training they require .

We now want the Colleges to follow the Uni's lead and pay for training too.#Justice4CollegeSupervisors pic.twitter.com/l4jXKj26v2

— Cambridge UCU (@CambridgeUCU) May 9, 2022

In 2021, Cambridge UCU and Cambridge SU officially launched a joint campaign called J4CS (Justice 4 College Supervisors), demanding “fair pay, paid training, and secure contracts” for supervisors. The campaign drew support from national figures including Jo Grady, General Secretary of UCU, and Daniel Zeichner, Cambridge’s MP.

Their demands were originally rejected by the Senior Tutors Committee. However, in January 2022 J4CS responded with a postcard campaign that saw over 600 postcards from supervisors who supported the campaign delivered to the University and Colleges. 

Keep an eye out for our #J4CS flying picket this morning! Sign the petition to demand Justice For College Supervisors NOW!https://t.co/ztiC8kAVIX pic.twitter.com/yVuXxs8HBO

— Cambridge UCU (@CambridgeUCU) December 1, 2021

The University then met with representatives from the campaign, and “committed to investigating the matter [of Faculties mandating training to supervisors] further.” 

Yesterday, following that investigation, the University has agreed to “draft guidance that mandates Faculties to pay for the supervision training they require.”

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Cambridge UCU described this win as “the result of years of relentless work and organising by casualised workers at the University.” This follows the University agreeing to officially recognise UCU last month. 

Where next?

However, Cambridge UCU claim it is merely the “first win” of a broader campaign. The University maintains that Colleges should be the party to pay for the five hour training required of all supervisors, and J4CS demands on increasing payment to reflect marking and preparation time, as well as secure contracts for supervisors, have not been met. 

Cambridge Defend Education, a group of students organising against the marketisation of education, have insisted the move will benefit students. They told The Tab “students are increasingly becoming aware that they lose out from staff being underpaid and overworked. Poor working conditions decrease the quality of education that students receive.”

However, they agreed that more must be done to combat the “internal gig economy” of the supervision system, continuing that “the Senior Tutors Committee must now ensure that the gross disparity between hours worked and hours paid is finally ended.”

On Twitter, Cambridge UCU directed supervisors to continue campaigning by signing up to their “#BillThemAll” pledge, which requires supervisors to track the “unpaid hours” they work in order to “demonstrate the extent of underpayment in the supervision system.”

Referencing Martin Luther King’s famous quote, they stated that “the moral arc of the universe is starting bending towards justice. But we need to make it bend even more.”

The moral arc of the universe is starting bending towards justice. But we need to make it bend even more. Our target remain the 31 Colleges.

Sign our pledge today and commit to #BillThemAll. pic.twitter.com/j8Nh9EUDyM

— Cambridge UCU (@CambridgeUCU) May 9, 2022

The University’s Office for External Affairs and Communications commented “This matter will be considered by the General Board’s Education Committee, before a consultation of Faculties and Departments takes place about a guidance document relating to this issue.”

Featured image credits: Rebekah Treganna