Adam Powell-Davies, Socialist Students national organiser
The University and College Union (UCU) held a parliamentary lobby and rally to launch its ‘Stop the cuts: fund higher education now’ campaign on 18 March.
Shocking redundancies
This was the first national campaign initiative in the ‘stop the cuts’ campaign, less than a week after the shocking announcement of 632 planned redundancies at Dundee University. UCU estimates that up to 10,000 jobs could be cut this year alone – 5% of staff.
The event was attended by UCU branches from across the country, with rally speakers from as far afield as Lancaster and Bangor, reflecting the enthusiasm for a trade union response to the cuts devastating higher education.
The rally showed that there’s a discussion taking place within the union over the best way forward in this fight, with a range of different opinions expressed. Several speakers called for coordinated, nationwide strike action, linked to the battle over staff pay and conditions.
I spoke to bring solidarity from Socialist Students to the rally, highlighting the need for students to link up with campus trade unions in the fight for full public funding for education, paid for by taking the wealth off the rich – not more fees, cuts and cost-of-living crisis.
Joining UCU activists was suspended Labour MP John McDonnell. He spoke of the need for “a parliamentary voice” to the struggles of university staff, saying the lobby was an opportunity to “recruit MPs as allies of the UCU”.
Funding Not Fees
Socialist Students groups are organising lobbies of local MPs, under the banner ‘Funding Not Fees’. This brings together students and staff, as well as trade unionists, anti-war activists, community campaigners, and more in the fight for political representatives who will give a voice to all the struggles of working-class and young people, under this pro-big business Keir Starmer government.
While Socialist Students continues to build Funding Not Fees on campuses, we hope to link up with the UCU ‘stop the cuts’ campaign – including mobilising the maximum student turnout to the UCU’s national demonstration in London on Saturday 10 May.
Coventry’s fight for free education
Frank Hammond, Coventry Socialist Students
United against attempts to break down our educational infrastructure, workers at Coventry University protested on 15 March. Perfectly planned to clash with the uni’s open day, they were supported by students, other trade unionists, and attendees of the Socialist Party’s national congress taking place in the same city.
John Latham, vice-chancellor and CEO of Coventry uni, has proposed job cuts of over 90 staff and plans to remove 200 others from the pension scheme (see ‘Students: Build the resistance to uni cuts!’.
And what a turnout for the protest. Over a hundred slowly passing by, holding signs; trade unionists, workers and students pumping their fists, clutching their wooden sticks from placards we all built to tell the bosses we aren’t accepting these attacks lying down.
Our placards held our campaign slogan: “Funding not fees! No redundancies!” The Funding Not Fees campaign aims to build a resistance to the many attacks on uni students and workers – the university bosses’ motives being a symptom of the failing system.
Speaking at the protest, former Labour MP Dave Nellist said the ‘fire-and-rehire’ scheme was being used as psychological blackmail against the staff. 66% of UK universities face deficit budgets this year. If Coventry University succeeded, many other universities would use the same tactics, he said. Clause 22 of the Employment Rights Bill declares ‘fire and rehire’ to be grounds for automatic unfair dismissal. But, with a 174-seat majority in the Commons, Labour, if they wanted to, could have immediately declared the practice illegal last July to protect workers from these attacks. But they didn’t.
Students and workers
My much-loved lecturer and vice chair of Coventry’s University and College Union (UCU) branch Monika Koehler-Ridley was interviewed by BBC news. I was delighted that she has attended a Socialist Party branch meeting to talk about the campaign. Students and workers have a common enemy. We’ll fight for free education, fight to end privatisation, fight for a society where we feel secure in our futures and do our part in pursuing the liberation of the working class.
Breaking news at Cardiff uni
A massive 83% of University and College Union (UCU) members have voted to strike. This is in response to 400 planned job losses.
86% voted for action short of strike, up to and including an assessment boycott. 64% voted in the ballot.
