Adam Gillman, Socialist Students
University and College Union (UCU) members at Southampton Solent University are striking over removing pensions from existing staff by transferring them to a subsidiary company. This could result in staff being rehired on worse conditions or losing their jobs entirely, with no compensation or pay.
This is on top of students having to pay thousands in tuition fees. Socialist Students are supporting the UCU strike and went to their picket line.
University management highlights the current funding crisis in higher education and the need to ‘balance the books’. But that’s exactly the problem. Attacking staff conditions, and attacking students through fees and cuts, all end up with workers and young people paying for the crisis.
What’s needed is for the trade union struggles happening in universities all over the country to be coordinated into a national campaign, united with a national student fightback, against job cuts and course closures and for a new funding model for fully funded free education.
One lecturer at the picket line told us: “National action is exactly what we need, as the funding model is completely broken.”
In addition to the national dispute, there also needs to be a TUC (Trades Union Congress) national demonstration against austerity in central London, which was voted for at the TUC Congress last year, to show we are stronger together and will fight back!
