Citing Low Pay, Staffers at Goldsmiths, the Courtauld, and 60 Other Art Schools in the UK Are Staging a Massive Strike

Faculty at some of the most
globally-renowned art schools in the United Kingdom—including
Goldsmiths College, the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of
the Arts London, Slade School of Fine Art, and Glasgow School of
Art—are participating in a collective strike this week. The
walk-outs, which began Monday and are planned to continue through
December 4, are being overseen by the University and College Union
(UCU) as part of a broader effort taken up by 60 universities
across the country.

The eight-day strikes were
spurred by disputes over changes to pensions, and issues of
pay, equality, casualization, and
workloads. For example, an October 2019 study by the University and
Colleges Employer Association found that pay for higher education
staff has dropped by a minimum of 17% since 2009.

Additionally, throughout this
period, union members will begin what the UCU calls “action short
of a strike,” meaning that they will work strictly to contract;
refrain from covering for absent colleagues; and refuse to
reschedule lectures missed during the strikes. 

While all 60 universities are
united in action on the shared issues, each school inevitably comes
with its own individual concerns. Speaking with Artnet News, Sean
Wallis, the representative for the Slade School of Fine Art at
University College London, expressed the staff’s problem with
insecure contract arrangements. He cited contracts offered through
agencies, which allows the university to deem various faculty
members as being self-employed. “The effect of this is to create a
kind of isolation as well as uncertainty,” he said.

Wallis also elaborated on the
energy of the strikers on the ground, describing their mood as
“determined,” and estimating that there are more participants out
on the picket lines than in previous strikes, including that of
2018. “The strike can be resolved because many of these issues are
fixable: even without a significant injection of cash one can offer
proper contracts of employment,” he concluded.

Academic faculty at the
Courtauld are voicing distress over the school’s current renovation
project, dubbed “Courtauld Connects,” the first phase of which
comes with a £50 million ($64,432,750) price tag. The institution
declined to comment to Artnet News, but has released a general
statement, insisting upon Courtauld Connect’s role as
“an important investment in our
future.” Yet striking staffers are pushing back, telling
The Art
Newspaper that “the
current inequalities in pay, especially for teachers on precarious
contracts, are particularly difficult to endure” in light of the
pricey refurbishment. 

UCU university branch
representatives at Goldsmiths and the Courtauld were not
immediately available for comment due to active participation on
the picket lines, but automated email responses voiced strong
support for the strikes. In addition to noting that she is
“striking in solidarity” for “fairer pensions, pay, and
conditions,” the Courtauld’s Joanna Woodall included a link to the
Twitter account of
philosophy scholar Amia
Srinivasan, who is detailing the strikes.

Perhaps more bluntly, the
automatic message reply of Marian Carty of Goldsmiths College
includes no overt reference to the strikes, but simply quotes
Albert Camus: “The dignity of man is not in triumph but in
revolt.”

The post Citing Low Pay, Staffers at Goldsmiths, the
Courtauld, and 60 Other Art Schools in the UK Are Staging a Massive
Strike appeared first on artnet News.