Precarious Academic Work
Dan Nooney, PTS Instructor
The description of contract academic work as “precarious” is an apt characterization of the nature of employment for those of us classified as neither regular nor even part-time or temporary faculty.
As a BCIT PTS instructor in ISEP ( the International Student Entry Program), I am pleased and honored that the FSA has offered me the opportunity to attend a conference in Toronto in early February sponsored by the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), a CAUT affiliate representing 17,000 university faculty and academic librarians across Ontario,. The theme of the conference is “Confronting Precarious Academic Work”. I will be joining BCIT Labor Relations Representative, Ken Howie, to hopefully contribute to this important conversation and learn more about strategies moving forward around this issue. I believe that the FSA decision to send representatives from our Association reflects the long-standing commitment of the FSA to its PTS members, and I wish to express my appreciation for that here.
The OCUFA conference outlines the following key themes:
- Current realities of precarious academic work and the impact on faculty, students, and higher education
- Learning from the experience of precarious labour in other jurisdictions
- Responding to the challenges of precarious academic work: current directions and future needs
- Re-imagining academic work for the future
Keynote speakers will highlight public perceptions, impacts on our academic communities, global trends, and most importantly, establishing solidarity as we confront the realities surrounding this issue. I would be very pleased to hear from and have conversations with my fellow FSA members prior to attending this February 10-11th conference and I’ll be providing a blog update upon my return. Please feel free to contact me by replying here or directly at dan_nooney@bcit.ca
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Dan, thanks for the blog entry. I’m thrilled to have you representing ISEP and BCIT, and look forward to hearing more about about the conference.
Reply →Thank you Dan for all of your effort to speak out on our behalf. You’re the perfect person to represent us at this conference. I look forward to hearing all about it when you come back. All the best.
Reply →Thak you from Mexico City. I´m studying about Precarious Academic Work in my country, and I´m very interested in having information about the papers presented in the Conference. I´d really appreciate your response.
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