Find someone who works more than their contracted hours without monetary compensation.
Find someone who hasn’t had a pay rise for the last five years.
Find someone who can’t afford to buy a house despite home ownership being common among people their age.
Find someone who works in a place where the staffroom is smaller than a classroom yet caters to the same number of people.
Find someone who is praised for their preparation and achievements without any recognition in job security.
Find someone who is constantly job hunting in order to transcend precarious employment.
Find someone who has made sacrifices for their workplace in spite of there being no reciprocation.
Find someone who is expected to conduct research despite having no allotted time nor payment provided to do this.
Find someone who has their working hours cut due to undersubscribed courses while their employer looks to finance new campus buildings.
Any other ideas, add them to the comments.
Find someone who…
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Hi Marc,
This is one of your most poignant posts – and I am afraid I was one of those (unfortunately) many who could not answer positively (or raise their hand) to any of these statements.
Very sad. I joined the teachers’ union of Zug a year ago, in the hopes that something will change. Not much has, but we are trying.
I am grateful for colleagues like you, who can lift me up and I also try to, and it helps so very much.
Vicky
Thanks Vicky. And thanks for trying to fight the good fight!
Find someone who does not dare to go to the staffroom because it is not a “safe” place!!!
This is something that I know my female colleagues have had issues with. It’s horrible.
It is 🙁
Hi Marc,
I know. I really do know. So I’ll contradict you to balance the scales. Find someone who works with smart&friendly, knowledgeable people all day long. Find someone whose job is also a creative outlet. Find someone who doesn’t have to go to the company Christmas party. Cheers for a great post. I envy you your courage to be that honest.
Kamila
Oh, I know, but I am tired of papering over the cracks. I want to show what’s underneath. Let everyone see, clear as day, what needs to be made better. Thanks Kamila.
Find someone who is fighting back! Find someone who joined a union. Find someone who is going to change the rotten ELT system for the better. Find someone who stood up for themselves. Find someone who isn’t going to put up with working for free, with no contract, anymore.
You’re completely right Marc. There’s no point in papering over the cracks and ignoring the fact that we are precarious workers and our rights as workers are being trodden all over. Solidarity with you from the Unite ELT branch and ELT Advocacy Ireland.
Thanks a lot, Keith. You and the ELT Advocacy Ireland are inspirational! I’m not in a union, though I have seriously looked. But silence is serving nobody. Hopefully speaking up means things get out in the open.
Find someone who doesn’t casually mention their family lives like their colleagues do because they’re LGBTQ+.
Find someone who others LGBTQ+ because they themselves don’t want to be othered.
Find someone who feels they can’t include LGBTQ+ in their materials because they’ll be fired.
Absolutely. Easier (but not actually easy) in some contexts and downright impossible in others. Thanks for your comment and retweet, Tyson.
Find someone for whom a few months of unemployment is a regular part of their year.
God, yes. Especially in higher/further education.
Find someone whose employer regularly adds in (unpaid) weeks off work with little to no notice.
Find someone who is often observed and critiqued in the workplace, while having no outlet to send similar observations back up the chain of employment.
Oh, goodness. I’ve never had the former; the latter is all too common, I am sure. Thanks for your comment, Ellen.