This week, South Wales West MS Sioned Williams called on the Welsh Government to lobby higher education management to bring a serious pay offer and to improve pensions and conditions of staff in the higher education sector.
Plaid Cymru spokesperson for Post-16 Education, Sioned Williams reiterated her support for members of the University and College Union (UCU), who have taken industrial action to demand fair pay and conditions.
UCU have warned that excessive workloads are impacting all levels of staff, with 60-hour weeks being common, and high numbers reporting strain, and these issues are especially affecting those on low-pay precarious contracts, such as postgraduate researchers.
In a question to the Education Minister, Sioned Williams MS called on the Welsh Government to lobby higher education management to bring a serious pay offer and to improve pensions and conditions.
Sioned Williams went on to say:
"Swansea University UCU have called for a five-way meeting between the universities, the governing bodies, UCU, and the Welsh and Westminster Governments to seek urgent bridging funding for the research staff made redundant this month as a result of withdrawal of structural funds, and to plan ahead for a knowledge economy insulated from stop-start funding policies. So, what has been the Welsh Government's response to that initiative?"
Watch below:
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