Gary Hall<p>Sad – though not surprised – to see what was anticipated almost a decade ago is now the norm in some places.</p><p><a href="https://manifold.umn.edu/projects/the-uberfication-of-the-university" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">manifold.umn.edu/projects/the-</span><span class="invisible">uberfication-of-the-university</span></a></p><p>According to the University and College Union, nearly two-thirds of essential tutorial teaching at Oxford is carried out by academics employed on precarious short-term contracts or paid by the hour in a manner akin to Uber-style gig economy work.</p><p>“They compared our work to bedroom fitters, security guards and cleaners, and I kept thinking: ‘Yes, and all those people have no chance of fighting the gig economy, but we do.’”</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/mar/08/ive-lost-my-work-and-been-ostracised-oxford-university-accused-of-failing-to-act-after-ruling-on-sham-contracts" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theguardian.com/education/2025</span><span class="invisible">/mar/08/ive-lost-my-work-and-been-ostracised-oxford-university-accused-of-failing-to-act-after-ruling-on-sham-contracts</span></a></p><p><a href="https://hcommons.social/tags/university" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>university</span></a> <a href="https://hcommons.social/tags/oxford" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>oxford</span></a> <a href="https://hcommons.social/tags/gig" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>gig</span></a> <a href="https://hcommons.social/tags/highered" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>highered</span></a> <a href="https://hcommons.social/tags/UCU" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>UCU</span></a> <a href="https://hcommons.social/tags/teaching" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>teaching</span></a> <a href="https://hcommons.social/tags/work" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>work</span></a></p>