Tag: higher-education

USS: Organising The Fight Back

SeanLeave a comment
Image shows protestors holding placards including “Hands off our pension!”

6:00pm Tuesday 1st June 2021

UCU Congress Fringe Meeting – all welcome

The UCU Solidarity Movement is organising a second meeting on USS during UCU Congress – all welcome, you need not be a delegate to congress.

The Higher Education Sector Conference will only have a limited time available for discussion, and will focus solely on the motions and amendments tabled for debate. The UCU Solidarity Movement meeting will allow for a wider discussion on USS, and allow members and HESC delegates to consider at greater depth how to develop the UCU’s campaign to defend USS.

Speakers include:

  • Sam Marsh – USS national negotiator
  • Sarah Joss – Vice President Heriot Watt UCU
  • Tim Wilson – UCU National Dispute Committee and Vice Chair Dundee UCU
  • Marion Hersh – NEC and alternate negotiator

Candidates standing for election as USS negotiators are encouraged to join the meeting, to speak and/or field questions.

Please share the event widely among your networks and on social media, and make sure your UCU branch is represented at the meeting.

#Goldstrike: A Fight for All Our Futures

SeanLeave a comment
Image shows a large pink banner with the words “No cuts, we love our staff”

Solidarity Rally for UCU Goldsmiths

7pm Thursday 9th December 2021

Goldsmiths Senior Management Team (SMT) is planning mass staff redundancies across departments this term, including 52 jobs this year: 20 academics in English & Creative Writing and History, and 32 professional services staff, as part of a wider scheme of redundancies to be rolled out over two years. These cuts risk causing chaos and harming student experience.

Senior management claim these cuts are required due to a deal that was struck with Lloyds Bank and NatWest bank, negotiated by the consultancy firm KPMG, committing to £4million of staff cuts this year followed by £2million next year.

In response to the threat of mass redundancies, Goldsmiths UCU members have been taking 15 days of strike action, 23rd November 23rd – 13th December.

As the first three days of national strikes over USS and Four Fights come to an end, and the new ballots begin in branches which fell short of the threshold, we need to build the maximum possible support for the fight at Goldsmiths.

The Goldsmiths dispute is nothing less than a battle for the future of Higher Education. We cannot allow the banks to decide how our universities should be run and which courses should be funded. This meeting will hear from staff who face redundancy and discuss the magnificent campaign that activists have organised in defence of their jobs.

Speakers:

  • Mike Rosen (Author, lecturer at Goldsmiths)
  • Tara Povey (Joint President, Goldsmiths UCU)
  • Paula Ktorides (professional staff member at Goldsmiths facing redundancy)
  • Jon Trickett (MP)
  • Larissa Kennedy (President, NUS)
  • Vicky Blake (President, UCU)
  • Peta Bulmer (President, University of Liverpool UCU)

You can also find out more and support the strike fund here: https://goldsmithsucu.org/donations/strikefund/