Socialist fighter honoured by lecturers' union

Andrew Price at Socialist Party congress 2008, photo Paul Mattsson

Socialist Party member Andrew Price is retiring from work next February, so he is standing down from his position as the UCU national executive member for Welsh Further Education.

The UCU executive have voted to confer life membership of the union on Andrew, in recognition of his many years of involvement in the union and one of its predecessors, NATFHE.

He has been a branch officer of NATFHE/UCU for more than 25 years and he served on the executive of the two unions for 13 years, twice defeating right-wing candidates.

For the past five years he has been a lay negotiator for Welsh FE pay and conditions, being one of the leaders of the recent strike against the employer's attempts to break the national agreement on pay.

Andrew told The Socialist: "Coming in the same week as the 40th anniversary of my membership of the Socialist Party, I am delighted that the brothers and sisters of my trade union have conferred this honour on me.

"But this is not the main prize. That came on 16 April this year when members walking out on strike and joining picket lines reached an all time high in Wales, with over 250 strikers demonstrating outside the Welsh Assembly."