Fighting university cuts

On 18 May, there was a demonstration of about 200 people at the main campus of the University of Glamorgan in south Wales, with smaller demonstrations held at another two campuses. The demonstration was called by the Unison trade union in response to a proposed 40 compulsory redundancies.

It wasn’t just Unison members in attendance but members of UCU, GMB and plenty of students as well.

The turnout of students was particularly impressive as it was not announced on the student union website until just before the event.

But the job cuts are not limited to the 40 amongst Unison members. Jobs are threatened amongst other university staff. The fact that at short notice over 200 attended a demonstration during the exam period shows there are a lot of people willing to be a part of a campaign to defend jobs.

There needs to be a co-ordinated campaign from all trade unions on campus – Unison, UCU, GMB, and the students union.

Glyn Matthews