The Socialist 15 March 2007

£billions for rich... Pennies for us!

Minimum wage insult

UNISON Health group votes for summer demo

Hewitt's 'day of exchange'

Fighting the cuts in Camden

Lambeth council attacks services for vulnerable people

Barking BNP don't oppose council cuts

Lewisham council's outrageous attack

Kurdish asylum seekers living in fear

Northern Ireland Assembly elections: Another sectarian headcount...

We Won't Pay Campaign conference success

Solidarity builds party profile ahead of elections

February revolution 1917 - what lessons for today?

US continues threats over Iran's nuclear ambitions

Iraq war: Convicted Bush official is 'fall guy' over WMD scandal

Celebrating International Women's Day

Tenants vote no to council housing sell-off

Market-driven 'social housing' threatens tenants

Will government plans stop climate change?

Build the campaign to defeat fees

International Socialist Resistance (ISR) and Socialist Students conference

Trade Unions and the Labour Party: CWU branch asks some awkward questions

Campaign for a New Workers' Party conference

Reinstate Dave Condliffe now

UNISON leaders lead members into dead end

SOUTHAMPTON council strike

PCS prepares for more struggles

Right wins lecturers' union leadership - on a 14% turnout

Previous issues, etc

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Right wins lecturers' union leadership - on a 14% turnout

ON 9 March, the University and College Union, UCU, announced the results of the election for its first general secretary since its formation from the merger of AUT and NATFHE.

Thomas House

The result was a narrow victory for the right. Former AUT general secretary Sally Hunt won with 52% of the final vote.

This is a step back for a union desperately in need of fighting leadership.

At Dundee university for example, a serious fightback by the local UCU branch, supported by students, was able to halt plans to impose compulsory redundancies. This has prompted many activists to support the call for an effective national response to cuts and closures (see the website: www. petitiononline.com/fightnow/), a demand supported by the left but not by Hunt.

Unfortunately, the left had two candidates, Roger Kline and Peter Jones. Socialist Party members supported a first preference vote for Kline, since he was the stronger candidate, whilst calling for a second preference vote for Jones, whom we recognise as a principled left-winger but lacking the base of support to win outright.

Having two separate campaigns undoubtedly diverted energies that could have been better spent on a united campaign.

The turnout for the election was very low, at under 14%, which must reflect disillusionment following bad national pay deals in both Further and Higher Education in recent months.

Had Roger Kline distanced himself more vigorously from these deals, he would have been able to appeal to these disillusioned members and win outright, regardless of the split campaigns.

The main tasks now are to build the union and the left within it.

This can be done by an orientation towards younger and lower-paid workers in universities and colleges who may not currently be active members.

These workers can be inspired by effective campaigning against cuts, closures and privatisation and for an end to casualisation of pay and conditions.

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£billions for rich... Pennies for us!