ANGRY lecturers at London Metropolitan University (London Met) are expected to vote to strike in a ballot starting next week, to demand that the university immediately recognises their union and withdraws plans for the sacking of 60 academics.
Staff say that London Met is refusing to recognise the University and College Union (UCU), and will not even negotiate with the union over the redundancies.
The UCU has responded by calling an academic boycott of the university, saying London Met is the only institution in the country where the union is not recognised.
An appeal from London Met UCU said: ‘After a long and bitter dispute provoked by attempts to impose inferior contracts in 2004-5, we looked forward to rebuilding relations of trust and cooperation.
‘Instead we have found that we are under attack on many fronts.
‘The new contract we won is now being re – (mis) interpreted to prevent anyone taking more than three weeks leave over the summer and effectively to deny many their full leave entitlement.
‘Individuals are also being harassed and victimised,’ the union alleges.
‘At the same time, all avenues for voicing opinion are being closed down.
‘Academics no longer have a seat on the Board of Governors and the new Academic Board is likely to end up without a single academic on it!
‘Now, the Director of HR has moved to derecognise UCU on the spurious grounds that as we are no longer NATFHE (as a result of our merger with the AUT) we no longer have recognition!
‘As a result, policies and procedures already agreed with the union are being torn up and major developments not discussed with staff at all.
‘Following this “de-recognition’’, two weeks ago, our Board of Governors approved management’s plan to make up to 60 academics redundant (the majority compulsory).
‘In doing so they explicitly stated “as there is currently no recognised academic union’’ there will be no union consultation over these redundancies.’
London Met UCU said that an academic boycott agreed unanimously at the union’s conference should be ‘immediately implemented in light of the threatened redundancies’.
It urged: ‘from now on please do not participate in official events, do not take up formal roles (validation etc), do not apply for jobs here, consider resigning from posts such as external examining, publicise the boycott elsewhere.
‘Put pressure on the TUC and affiliated unions to publicly threaten to withdraw from the very many links they have with London Met (for example we house the TUC archive!).’
A rally outside the London Met campus on Holloway Road on Wednesday was attended by more than 100 staff, students and UCU members from other colleges and universities.
Cliff Snaith, UCU branch official at London Met, told News Line: ‘We are out here a: to demand recognition immediately; b: to demand that management reconsider the redundancies, and c: if they do not do that and immediately go into negotiations with us, we are calling for strike action or action short of a strike.
‘There will be a ballot next week. The ballot will run for four weeks with a view to a strike or industrial action as soon as possible after that.
‘It is appalling treatment we are receiving.’
Cliff Snaith told the rally London Met ‘is the only institution in the country so far that has failed to recognise the UCU – the biggest union in post-16 education on the planet!’
He said management wanted 60 redundancies to begin with ‘and possibly considerably more redundancies after that.’
He introduced speakers from the UCU national executive, Harlow College UCU, London Met Student Union executive, City and Islington UCU, as well as Respect MP George Galloway.
Amanda Sackur, chair of the UCU coordinating committee at London Met, warned the rally that behind the dispute was ‘a property strategy’ to sell off the university’s premises and move away.
‘If it had really been about falling student numbers they would have taken a different approach,’ she said.
‘One of the reasons for derecognising us in the first place was to facilitate these redundancies and we have to fight every single one of them.’
A statement was read out from UCU General Secretary Sally Hunt, which said the lecturers at London Met ‘have the full support of the UCU’.
Hunt pledged the union’s assistance to ‘aid you in any way we can to win this fight.’
The rally was told that messages of support were pouring in from all over the world.
The next speaker, Respect MP George Galloway, said he had written to London Met Vice-Chancellor Brian Roper on June 29 but has received no reply.
He added: ‘In the 11th year of a so-called Labour government, the idea that any employer – never mind a major public sector employer – has the right to tell a trade union – the biggest in the field in this country – that it simply does not recognise their existence is ridiculous and rotten, and we have to get this message out far and wide.’
Paul Hughes, from Harlow College UCU, said the ‘neo-Thatcher’ Labour government had left lecturers defending ‘fundamental rights’ – essentially the same fight that was waged by the Tolpuddle Martyrs over 150 years ago.
He added: ‘We will stand shoulder to shoulder and we will bring some of these people to account.
‘We will bring about the changes necessary for us as workers and even more necessary for working-class students who go to colleges like this.’
UCU President-elect Sasha Callaghan said: ‘You’re not on your own in this dispute.
‘I was at a very, very angry public meeting in Harlow last Friday about the excesses happening there.’
She said the bosses of Harlow and London Met ‘seem to be the evil twins within our sector.’
She added: ‘This is like standing outside a 19th century mill with the mill owners inside. That is the way they seem to view us.
‘It is a scandal and a scar on the face of education in this country.’
She added: ‘Don’t even imagine you are by yourselves. There is only one Brian Roper (vice-chancellor) and 220,000 UCU members. We can win this and we will.’
Noreen Fatima, from London Met Students Union Vice-President (Education), told the rally the Students Union had passed a resolution ‘of support for the lecturers and no confidence in university management.’
Shaun Pernell, City and Islington College UCU branch and union executive member, brought greetings to London Met lecturers and said: ‘We supported you as much as we could the last time you were in dispute.
‘We will do absolutely everything we can to make sure you win this battle.’
Jane Hardy, UCU national executive member from the University of Hertfordshire, announced to loud applause that the union’s higher education committee had passed a resolution ‘supporting a boycott of London Met’.
She said UCU would tell lecturers: ‘Don’t apply for jobs or go to conferences at London Met while we have jobs under threat and the UCU derecognised.’
Mark Campbell, London Met UCU, from the CCTM computing department, said: ‘We will be balloting on strike action. We have to get a very high turnout in this ballot and show we are not intimidated.
‘We want and demand an academic boycott of this university. We want an academic boycott and we want it now.’
Lecturers and students from other colleges and universities took part in the rally.
George Brakespear, a recent A-level student from Enfield, told News Line: ‘I am demonstrating with the teachers today to fight for their rights and the rights of students to education.
‘This government is just eradicating the whole education system, bringing in privatisation, and that’s not right.’
UCU student Sohrab Khan said: ‘I am shocked to hear what is happening. These cuts will affect us.
‘If they are not listening to the lecturers, they won’t hear our voice either, so I support them.’
Dorothy Wright, branch chair of the UCU at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: ‘The idea this college doesn’t recognise what every college and university in the country has recognised is appalling.
‘I think there should be an immediate implementation of the academic boycott of London Met.’
Joe Killeen, a student at London Met’s City campus, said: ‘I’m very angry at what’s happening to the lecturers.
‘The students union should join the lecturers’ picket lines if they strike. We are in the same struggle.’
