‘We will stand firm and if necessary we will escalate the fight because we will not let this university go under!’
This was the message that Amanda Sackur, a rep from the UCU lecturers’ union, told the 300-strong mass strike rally outside London Metropolitan University yesterday.
The strike and rally was in defence of the 550 lecturers and staff that are threatened with the sack at London Metropolitan University.
Lecturers were joined by students and workers from other unions on the picket lines from 8.30 in the morning.
Daphne Chalk-Birdsall, a Unison member, joined the picket in a personal capacity.
She said: ‘I work at the Holloway Road University library and I am worried about three out of five of our libraries closing and librarians losing their jobs.’
UCU member Roberto Foth came all the way from Tower Hamlets college to join the picket.
He told News Line: ‘What is happening at London Met can happen at other institutions as well. The investment into the banks is about political will.
‘If you want to put money into education you will find it. They found £1.3 trillion of tax money, of our money and of future generations money to bail out the banks.
‘Our union opposes the marketisation of education!’
The rally was addressed by London Met UCU NEC member Malcolm Campbell. He said: ‘What we are seeing nationally is jobs under threat, jobs across the whole country.
‘At Liverpool University eight departments were threatened with closure.
‘We need to show the employers and the government that our members are prepared to defend education.’
The rally was also addressed by Alberto, one of the sacked Visteon workers who recently won a redundancy pay victory.
He told the rally: ‘We were sacked and told we had 6 minutes to leave the building.’
‘We decided to go back in, stormed the building and went on to the roof and occupied the building for more then a week’, Alberto said to big cheers from the rally.
Civil servants union PCS rep Austin Harney warned of the job cuts they face: ‘As well as there being most likely over 500 jobs likely to go at London Met there is also 500 jobs likely to go at Archway Tower where I work as a civil servant.
‘We have a joint demonstration planned between PCS and UCU for Saturday the 23rd of May starting at Highbury Park and marching along the Holloway Road up to Archway Park outside Archway Tower.
‘I personally would like to see joint strike action acroos all public sector unions that are fighting for better pay and conditions at this time in the credit crunch.’
Student Lucy Ritkethly whose musical instrument making course is threatened, said after the rally: ‘If occupying the University is what we must do then that is what we will do to get what we are entitled to!’
