Graduate Teaching Assistants’ working conditions at the University of Glasgow

For years, Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) at the University of Glasgow have been overworked and underpaid while enduring deeply precarious working conditions and having our ability to teach at an acceptable level curtailed by management negligence, the university’s failure to implement fair and equal pay for GTA work across the institution, and an exploitative work culture. This year in particular, however, saw a spate of cuts in real terms to GTA pay and conditions across many departments that left an already poorly remunerated and overworked workforce at breaking point.

Whilst GTAs perform an absolutely essential part of teaching delivery at the university, even delivering most face-to-face teaching in many departments, especially at pre-Honours levels, we are often expected to do so without being paid even close to the hours needed to teach at an acceptable standard that we can take pride in and which our students deserve.

Many GTAs find themselves preparing far longer than the time they are paid for as part of their teaching, while other issues such as a lack of materials given by course convenors, lack of training on the part of line managers, and expectations to take on extra responsibilities not included in our employment contracts have become endemic.

We call on the University of Glasgow to take serious steps in dialogue with the UCU to address the following, and ensuring these are implemented across all University departments and colleges:

1. Equal pay: To raise allocated preparation time to a reasonable level which truly represents the work that GTAs must devote to delivering pedagogically sound teaching. There should be transparency of workload models for GTAs, e.g. preparation time, marking time and end discrepancies in pay rates and time allocations for different tasks across colleges.
2. Fair pay: To eliminate the endemic overworking of GTAs expected to perform tasks not within those stipulated as their responsibility in their employment contracts – particularly, but not limited to, extra administrative work and contributions to the creation of course content.
3. Secure pay: To ensure all GTAs are issued initially with two-year contracts, as per the University’s policy.
4. Training and implementation: To ensure that line managers and course convenors responsible for GTAs receive and take part in adequate training regarding their role.

Please sign this petition to support GTAs at the University of Glasgow.