Obituary - Death of lecturer and union activist Jill Jones

Published: 07 January 2011
by JOSIE HINTON

JILL Jones, who has died aged 64 following a valiant battle with cancer, was a popular lecturer and union activist, who spent her life fighting passionately for the rights of others.

Jill taught in the Business School at the University of Westminster for 30  years and was a key contributer to the MA in Human Resource Management. 

She also headed a course as part of a European-funded initiative to help women back into employment after having children, which she particularly enjoyed.

But equally important was Jill’s union activism. She became chairwoman and chief negotiator for academic union Nafthe, which later merged with the AUT to become the University and College Union (UCU). 

In this role she fought for equality for all staff, particularly visiting lecturers, and was proud that Westminster was one of the first institutions to offer visiting lecturers teaching for two years the same conditions of employment as full-time staff.

Jill was born in 1946 into a family of academics: her mother Sheila Jones was a lecturer in psychology at London University and her father Gwyn Jones a professor of Physics at St Mary’s. The family lived in East Heath Road, Hampstead, in a house now occupied by Boy George.

Colleagues described her as “strong,” “independent-minded” and “great fun.” 

On top of her union activities and teaching, she also found time to organise social events for staff and students alike, and took a particular interest in overseas students who were alone in the UK. Following her retirement in 2009, she maintained a role with the UCU until her death.

Dick Leigh, who worked alongside Jill or many years, said: “She never stopped. I used to get emails at 5am, so that tells you what kind of person she was.”

She is survived by her elderly mother Sheila and her sister Katie.