UCU members at Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College are planning strike action on Thursday 29th June over the threat of compulsory redundancies of up to 10 lecturers – one of the people under threat is the UCU Branch Secretary.
The redundancies arise from cuts in a number of departments and from the disgraceful closure of A Level courses at the College.
Marxist students are in full solidarity with the strike action. We’re opposed to all cuts to courses and staffing level as it damages the quality of education and puts our teachers out of work.
This is what happens when education is subject to the capitalist logic of cost-cutting and austerity. We need massive public investment in schools, not cuts. And we need to fund this by taking over the banks and big business and rationally planning investment into the things society really needs, like teachers, instead of things it doesn’t need, like weapons of mass destruction.
Bully boy Management had tried to stop the threat of industrial action at the college by threatening to withdraw enhanced voluntary redundancy payments unless the ballot was called off. UCU members refused to be divided and voted to go ahead to their credit. Pickets will be from 8.00 to 11.00 at all the sites and support is very welcome.
