Name the date and build for mass action The National Union of Students (NUS) has finally announced a series of actions to fight against the sweeping privatisation and cuts threatened to hit our universities if the government get their way. This comes after a week of twists and turns in which the government ‘dropped’ its [...]
Ian Pattison – a marcher on the Youth Fight for Jobs Jarrow march – replies to Labour leader Ed Miliband’s recent comments which claim to offer a ‘radical rethink’ on benefits. Dear Ed Miliband I was disgusted to wake up to 2012 to hear that you’re going to “get tough on the workshy.” I’m a [...]
Wednesday, November 9th, saw around 10,000 students take to the streets to protest against the government’s plans to snatch away the future of young people. The march helped to send a clear message to the government: the message that the fightback on fees, EMA, privatisation funding cuts is not over. We’re continuing the fight for [...]
On Saturday 3,000 joined the Jarrow marchers in London to celebrate the end of the 330 mile march. There was overwhelming support from the crowd who had travelled from all over the country. Coaches of workers, students, pensioners and unemployed people arrived at Embankment. We were even joined by 106 year old Hetty Bower who [...]
On Saturday the National Union Students (NUS) set a date for the walkout against privatisation of universities. The strike will now take place on the 14th March. While the government white paper on education was withdrawn the walk out is taking place against attempts by university managements to implement the measures themselves.
The move by the NUS is a historic step; never in its 90 year history has the NUS called a national walkout. It is now the job of every university and college activist to make sure that the action is a big, militant show of anger. We can have no faith that the NUS are going to build to make this a success. The movement of protests, occupations and strikes in late 2010 was built for outside of the official structure of the NUS.
This move is positive and gives us the chance to take action with authority of NUS behind us. But at the same time for the leadership it is really about keeping up appearances. At best they will campaign for a turn out half heartedly and then no further action will be taken. We will now campaign for local SU’s to mobilise for the day and completely shut down education. The day of action needs to be the start of a renewal of student militancy.
The NUS has called this strike against attempts to privatise the universities by the back door. Yet many students will also be angry about sky-high fees, the scrapping of EMA and cuts. Ultimately to score any kind of real and lasting victory for students demands for a genuinely fair education system. Education is a right not a privilege to be enjoyed only by those that can afford it. The demand of the walkout needs not just to be against privatisation and cuts. We also call for tuition fees to be scrapped. We call for grant funded higher education. The walkout should also be spread to the FE colleges demanding the reinstatement of EMA.
On March 28th another round of pensions strike is likely. The NUS should call further action and mobilise students to attend picket lines and demonstrations in solidarity with striking workers. While it is vital that students fight to defend the right to an education, this alone is not enough. A mass movement of students, youth and workers is what is needed to take defeat this ConDem government and its cuts agenda.
We are determined to fight for a new society. Socialist Students and Youth Fight for Jobs and Education will build for the walkout as part of the campaign against ConDem austerity. The length and breadth of the country we will be building a campaign to demand a future. We are fighting for jobs, homes and services for young people. We will build a movement that says we won’t be a lost generation! We will fight their system!
Samantha Garratt
Leeds Trinity Union general secretary
At Leeds Trinity University College canteen services have been stopped on Saturdays and Sundays for the foreseeable future. Due to this closure staff have been made redundant and others have had their hours cut. This is a breach of student contracts of those who live in part-catered accommodation, which states that they will have access to catering services 7 days a week during term time. There have been vending machines installed in place of cooked food consisting of microwave meals – with only one vegetarian option (which in my experience is disgusting) – chocolate and soft drinks. Most of the products available are more expensive than in the canteen. » Read more..
This week there’s been another set of statistics showing working and middle class people are finding the prospect of £50,000 worth of debt enough to make them rethink plans to embark on a university education. Official UCAS statistics, have confirmed what Socialist Students has said all along. There’s been an 8.7% drop in applications for the first year of students facing the government’s enormously hiked in tuition fees.
Last week The Socialist reported that the National Union of Students (NUS) had called a ‘week of action’ and a walk-out of students against the government’s plans for cuts, privatisation and marketisation set to devastate our universities. Socialist Students welcomes the announcement, but says that the NUS leadership must ‘put their money where their mouth is’ and start build for mass action. » Read more..