[ASA] Fwd: UNDER SEVERE STRAIN: A STARK SNAPSHOT OF SCIENTISTS

Mon Oct 11 07:17:58 AEDT 2021

Greetings everyone
  you may have heard this report on news outlets this morning. Here is a
link to the fill report. More good work done by STA, of which the ASA is a
member.

  Best to all

John L

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Science & Technology Australia <mmrelease at isentia.com>
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2021 at 07:15
Subject: UNDER SEVERE STRAIN: A STARK SNAPSHOT OF SCIENTISTS
To: <john.lattanzio at monash.edu>

UNDER SEVERE STRAIN: A STARK SNAPSHOT OF SCIENTISTS

*Monday 11 October 2021*

Widespread job insecurity, a spike in workloads and fatigue, and
devastating job losses are eroding the morale of Australia’s science
workforce at a time when we need science at its strongest, new research has
found.

The annual Professional Scientists Employment and Remuneration Report
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/bfBsCWLVXkU5LXWM1H6NnYQ?domain=apesma.informz.net>
by Science & Technology Australia and Professional Scientists Australia
reveals the mounting toll on scientists of the pandemic and longer-term
chronic job insecurity.

This year’s survey lays bare a steep drop in morale amid growing
exhaustion, mounting workloads and job insecurity from short-term work
contracts and the high stakes lottery of science careers relying on
competitive grants.

Science & Technology Australia Chief Executive Officer Misha Schubert said
Australia’s scientists desperately needed better job security.

“There’s a huge risk that many more of our brilliant scientists will hit
breaking point and just walk away if we don’t fix this broken system of
insecure work,” she said.

“We need stronger investment in science such as a $2.4 billion Research
Translation Fund and much greater job security for scientists to avert a
disastrous loss of talent and pursue a science-led recovery.”

“This year’s federal Budget is a legacy-defining opportunity for a lifeline
for Australian science.”

Science & Technology President Associate Professor Jeremy Brownlie said the
“pincers of the pandemic and precarious work” were taking a brutal toll on
scientists.

“Australia’s scientists have prevented a vast number of deaths in this
pandemic - yet our country isn’t supporting them nearly well enough in
return,” he said.

“We’re seeing rising levels of fatigue, a bleak drop in morale, and
widespread job insecurity with job losses at universities and precarious
short-term contracts.”

Nearly two-thirds of scientists surveyed said morale at their workplace had
fallen in the last year - a steep spike up from one in two who said morale
fell in 2020.

And seven in ten scientists said fatigue levels had risen this year -
another steep rise from the five in ten who said the same last year.

Almost one in four scientists in today’s survey said they were on a
fixed-term contract, with an average length of 18 months, offering very
little job security.

Modelling by Universities Australia estimated 17,300 jobs were lost at
universities
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/QkPNCXLW2mUXPDz8ltVFL29?domain=universitiesaustralia.edu.au>
in 2020, a devastating toll fuelling workloads and job insecurity for staff
who remain.

Key findings from this year’s scientists survey include:

   - 62.5 per cent of scientists surveyed said morale fell in their
   workplace in the last year. That’s a big jump from 45.8 per cent in 2020.
   - 70.6 per cent of scientists said fatigue had risen over the past year
   - up from 54.6 per cent in 2020.
   - One in four scientists surveyed were on fixed-term work contracts,
   with an average contract length of just 18 months.
   - 39.4 per cent of scientists have not had a pay increase in the last 12
   months (with pay freezes at many universities amid the pandemic’s financial
   hit).
   - Women scientists earn just 82.8 per cent of male scientists’ salaries
   - a gender pay gap of 17 per cent.
   - One in five scientists (19.9 per cent) indicated they plan to leave
   the profession entirely in coming years. This figure was 18.3 per cent in
   2020.
   - Scientists are working an average of 7.5 hours overtime each week.
   58.9 per cent said they received no extra pay or compensation for overtime.

Science & Technology Australia and Professionals Australia run this survey
every year to gather accurate data on salaries and workplace conditions.

The survey of 1,275 professional scientists ran in June 2021.

The full report is here
<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/bfBsCWLVXkU5LXWM1H6NnYQ?domain=apesma.informz.net>.

*Media contact: *Martyn Pearce, Science & Technology Australia - 0432 606
828

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School of Physics and Astronomy
Monash University Victoria 3800 AUSTRALIA

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"...it’s a human story that builds to a climax and it’s personal from end
to end.
You start out wondering why you bought those blue pajamas and later you’re
wondering why you were born. You go from the foolishly absurd to the deadly
serious and you’ve passed through the gaudy and the nasty along the way.
You get to the edge and you’re played out and you wonder where’s the good
news? Isn’t there supposed to be good news?"
        - Bob Dylan
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