Campaign news

Solidarity with UCU strike

17th March 2011

UCU members have begun walking out on strike today (Thu 17 Mar) over attacks on members’ jobs and pensions in both further and higher education. For more information see the UCU website. UCU members in Scotland are taking strike action today (17 Mar), in Wales tomorrow (18 Mar), in Northern Ireland on Monday (21 Mar) and in England on Tuesday (22 Mar). The action will culminate with a national strike on Thursday 24 March. We encourage LRC members to get on picket lines and show their solidarity with UCU members - as well as taking up the issue of public sector pensions and Hutton in their CLP and trade union.

John McDonnell MP, LRC Chair, said:

“Education is in the firing line of this target as it seeks to demolish the universal public services. The UCU is leading the way in resisting this government’s attacks on education.

“UCU members are now at the forefront of the struggle to maintain a decent education system for our children and young people. They deserve our whole-hearted support in their fight. Solidarity.”

Veronica Killen, LRC and UCU member, said:

“Thursday 24th March will be a momentous day. It will be the first time that all FE Colleges and all University UCU members will be out on strike, together, on the same day. The day of action is about a combination of national disputes affecting staff in both sectors. It is about pay, job security and pensions.

“In additional to the callous cuts to the teaching and research budget, and the extension of a life time of debt to students through rising top-up fees, it beggars belief that we have to go to the wire to get inflation matched pay rises while the top bankers carry on with business as usual. The callous approach to the value of education and the growing casualisation of teaching staff demonstrates how this government education policies are written on the back of cigarette packets by people who treat education with utter contempt.

“The slash and burn of key subjects, such as modern foreign languages, arts and social science will push this country further away from being a world leader of education. We can afford state funded education (see the LEAP paper and publications from the UCU).

“On top of all that the public sector is facing salami cuts to pensions. Public sector pensions are deferred pay and a retirement is reward for a long working life – something that everyone is entitled to – not just the rich. UCU members are angry – we have every right to be and we will be showing that anger on the streets on the 24th. Defend jobs – defend education – defend pensions!”

Nick Matthews, LRC and UCU member, said:

“I am surprised UCU members are not even more angry than they are. At this time of year most academics are run ragged yet during the period leading up to this strike over jobs and pensions many Vice Chancellors have been raking it in. In the last set of published accounts for my institution (Coventry University) for 2009 the Vice Chancellor’s salary increased by over £12,000 to almost £200,000 and her pension contribution increased by £1,700 to a total of £28,000. Of course we are all in this together.
“The days of work in HE being a vocation have long gone with successive Government attacks on the sector and moves towards performance related pay and the erosion of conditions in search of profit. Workers need to get wise to what is going on in the education industry there is no doubt we need to build a stronger union to defend the interests of education workers”.