Protest at London Met earlier this year
Workers and students at London Metropolitan University have been left in a state of limbo by bosses who are threatening deep cuts to jobs and courses.
Redundancy letters are starting to arrive and UCU union members are set to start striking this Wednesday.
UCU branch chair Christina Paine told Socialist Worker, “The dispute is about 120 compulsory redundancies, loss of research, cuts to vital student services and academic mentors being sacked.”
She explained that workers had been sent away for the Easter break with a redundancy letter.
The university talks about “putting students first”. But students are backing the strikers.
Christina said, “Fundamentally staff want to protect teaching and courses. London Met is a social justice institution. It has a large number of mature students and local students who wouldn’t have otherwise gone to university.
“London Met is spending £284 million on developing the estate. But the students don’t need a posh cafe. They come here for support.”
She argued that London Met’s plans are part of a wider trend of “turning education into a playground for the rich impoverisheded students being pushed out”.
Christina explained that the union branch is trying to give workers confidence that they can do something to stop the plans and is running a political campaign.
“We are working to make people feel like they can actually vote for industrial action.
“We want to help people see that their job will not be saved by being silent. And it won’t get better in terms of workload.
“That an injury to one is an injury to all. Those not directly affected will be next.”
The union branch has been on strike before in 2016 over pay, inequality and zero hours contracts.
But, Christina said, “Eight days of strikes is historic for London Met. In 2016, we only took two days and two days. This is the first time we have taken such action.
“We have had six demonstrations already. Local MP Jeremy Corbyn has supported us. He will come to the picket line along with other MPs. We have talked about lobbying the Department for Education.
“We have a strike committee of about 15 people and we are working on publicity. We have a new website and social media accounts.”
Christina said that bosses met with the UCU branch to talk about the crisis caused by part time students being asked to repay their maintenance loans and grants. This affects hundreds of students at London Met.
But the bosses hadn’t agreed to an all-staff meeting about the redundancies.
Christina said, “Management have now agreed to meet—it’s a big step forwards but it won’t stop the action.
“We want to halt the process and work out an alternative where we and the students have a voice in what’s happening.”
Strikes are set to take place this Wednesday and Thursday, next Tuesday to Thursday and the following Monday to Wednesday.
UCU union members at Northumbria University in Newcastle are set to strike for the whole of next week over plans to force them off the TPS pension scheme and slash their pay if they refuse.
Northumbria UCU branch chair Adam Hansen said, “We are not asking for more, just what we signed up for” adding that the changes are “potentially illegal and definitely immoral”.
At the University of Leicester, UCU union members have announced more strikes on 5, 11 and 18 May.
At Goldsmiths in London, there is strong support for strikes against bosses’ redundancy plans.
The vote for strikes was 81 percent, with 92 percent voting for action short of a strike including a potential marking and assessment boycott.
Planned strikes at the University of Sheffield International College (Usic) will not go ahead this week.
The UCU branch says, “Members have agreed to temporarily suspend strike action ahead of ACAS talks.”
Welding and fabrication lecturers at City of Glasgow College are set to start their next round of strikes next week.
The lecturers are taking action to demand better health and safety measures.
They say college bosses have failed to address their concerns about the risk of being exposed to cancer causing metal dust. The EIS‑FELA union members plan to strike on 21-24 April, 27-30 April and 5-8 May.
Campaigners dressed as Suffragettes and chained themselves to a fire engine last Saturday in a day of action to save fire services in south west England.
Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service plans to close eight stations as it claims there is a £1.2 million hole in the budget.
Sam Strudwick said, “Only a few years ago firefighters from this station saved a girl’s life.”
She explained that if the local stations are closed, fire engines will have to come from Dorchester, Bridport or Weymouth. With response times that are already among the slowest in the country, they may not arrive in time.
Meanwhile, FBU fire brigade union members in Oxfordshire are celebrating a victory.
Councillors are set to abandon plans to close three fire stations.
Their decision comes after 94 percent of the FBU members voted for strikes in a consultative ballot and 1,500 people responded to a public consultation.
The FBU held a mass rally and marched against the cuts.
The FBU’s Chris Wycherley said, “When firefighters and communities unite, we can defeat cuts that would put lives in danger.”
Health workers set to strike across four Manchester hospitals
Bus workers rejected an offer and came back out
Deadline to accept new conditions approaches
