THE UNIVERSITY lecturers’ strikes are having a a massive impact, and, with the overwhelming support of the vast majority of students, the Vice-Chancellors have been driven onto the back foot. Yesterday, Sussex student protesters occupied the headquarters of Universities UK. This came after at least 15 vice-chancellors – including the heads of universities in Durham, Newcastle and Kent – publicly broke ranks and called for ‘peace talks’.
University vice chancellors are now expected to meet with lecturers to discuss the burning issue of pensions and try and avert further strikes.
The second day of the nationwide strikes shut 64 universities across the length and breadth of the country. Lecturers are out on strike in defence of their pensions. They have 12 further days of strike action called, three of which are next week.
Sally Hunt, general secretary of the UCU, said: ‘Universities UK needs to stop sending out mixed messages on whether it wants to talk or not. ‘We hope the sensible voices at this morning’s strike summit will give their negotiators a clear mandate to go back to the table and get this mess sorted out. ‘If they want to talk to us without preconditions, as the universities minister has suggested, then let’s do it today.’
At SOAS, all eight entrances were covered by picket lines.
Lizzie Hull, SOAS UCU Health and Safety Rep, told News Line: ‘I think we are at loggerheads in terms of the national negotiations. ‘This is an unprecedented strike action. If it came to it a lot of people will be willing to escalate to a marking boycott. ‘There is enormous support from students. Many joined our picket yesterday.’
Leandro Vergara, SOAS UCU lecturer, said: ‘Students understand why we are doing this. They see it as a broader struggle than just pensions. ‘Everyone understands it could be the first step for a massive struggle to recover free higher education, restoration of grants, increase the funding for universities and improve the pay and conditions for all university staff. ‘Austerity cannot continue like this any longer.’
Over a hundred students walked out at 10.30am yesterday to join a hundred striking lecturers for a rally at Imperial College. UCU rep Rod Slorach told News Line at Friday morning’s picket at the College: ‘After the rally we held a march around the campus where we have six picket lines.’ UCU member and postgraduate researcher Johnny Ritson said: ‘It’s got to the point where after cutting wages year after year, the pension has become very important. ‘In the 1990s the universities took a pension holiday. Now there’s a deficit, so we have to say enough is enough.’
