Actions
The wave begins
Students on campuses all over the UK are taking action this week against cuts and fees.
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NCAFC calls for wave of direct action
From the website of the National Campaign Against Fees & Cuts
Following its first steering meeting The National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts is calling for a wave of action to defend education from March 1st.
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Sussex students protest against cuts
Sussex Stop the Cuts has called a protest outside university management’s next meeting with SU representatives.
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Mobilise for the National Convention!
The National Convention Against Fees & Cuts is being organised by UCL Students for Free Education, with support from students across the country. It aims to provide an opportunity to bring together free education AND anti-cuts campaigns from universities and colleges across the country, as well as students’ unions, political groups and trade unions active on the issue.
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Staffordshire students march for free education
by Faye Patrick
A report on a recent anti-fees demonstration at Staffs Uni’s Stoke campus.
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Sheffield, Newcastle, Cambridge, Manchester Met, London: student resistance to fees and cuts spreads…
Activists on an ever-increasing number of campuses across the UK are launching actions - including meetings, rallies and demonstrations - against fees, cuts and the marketisation of education. Read on for more details.
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Hull students rally for free education
Matt Gabriel, ENS supporter and activist in the Hull Free Education Network, reports on a recent action in Hull.
On Tuesday 17 November, Hull Free Education Network held a demo and banner drop on campus as part of the Global Week of Action for free education. On the day we started to gather at around 9:45-10:00, we were a bit disapointed when at the designated start time, only 5 or so people had turned up, but we were soon joined by 10 other activists. At this point we decided to drop the banners; the students in the common room where we dropped the banners from were very supportive of what we were doing.
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Breaking News - LCC occupied against cuts
News is emerging about an occupation at the London College of Communication, which has been threatened by course closures and job cuts over the past year.
We’ll bring you more news as it comes in.
Check out the blog and join the facebook group to keep updated.
Global Week Of Action - For Free Emancipatory Education for All
The International Student Movement, responsible for the calls that have resulted in significant waves of direct action by students across Europe and indeed the world. Their latest week of action has been called for November 9-18; ENS believes student activists in the UK should respond. Read more
Students - support the postal workers! Don’t be used as scabs!
In 2007, ENS took the lead in organising support for the national postal workers’ dispute within the student movement. As postal workers prepare another national strike (starting this Thursday and Friday), we are preparing to provide solidarity again.
ENS steering committee member Katherine McMahon is submitting this motion to her SU. Other SUs should feel free to adapt and pass it. Some of it is based on a policy passed by the University of Sussex SU in 2007, which is available here. For the statement ENS released at the time of the 2007 dispute, click here.
See here for a Q&A: the issues behind the postal strike.
See below for our statement in support of the strike.
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Support the anti-Academy struggle in Barrow!
Students and parents at Parkview School in Barrow-in-Furness are campaigning against the closure of their school to make way for an Academy. For more details on the struggle and how you can support it, read on.
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Greetings from Occupied Sheffield
Daniel Randall, an organiser of the University of Sheffield student occupation and a member of the Education Not for Sale Steering Committee, writes from inside the occupation…
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Occupation at Manchester: students confront uni bosses and police
Students at Manchester University have occupied a key campus building following a demonstration organised by the left-led SU. See below for more information and updates.
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Sussex “Education Not for Sale” campaign launched
Students at the University of Sussex have launched an “Education Not for Sale” campaign
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Facebook bans union organiser!
From Eric Lee of LabourStart, the online trade union news-service.
In a moment I’m going to ask you to support the most unusual campaign we have ever launched - but first, some background.
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Fight for free speech at the University of Nottingham
Students at Nottingham University are calling a demonstration for 23 February against attempts to quash their rights to protest and organise. One student has been arrested and others banned from the library for failing to ask permission to demonstrate and circulate petitions.
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Class(room) struggles: meeting at Sussex Uni
ENS supporters at the University of Sussex have organised a meeting on “class(room) struggles: education workers within, against and beyond capital”. Read on for more info.
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The fightback continues
Around 300 activists attended the second annual Feminist Fightback conference at the University of East London on 20th October (which was initiated by ENS’s autonomous women’s caucus), and around 40 activists attended ENS’s ‘Education For Freedom’ conference which took place the day after.
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Postal workers’ dispute: University of Sussex SU passes anti-scab, pro-strike policy
Further cementing its reputation as one of the leading activist-led, radical SUs in the country, USSU has passed policy condemning the use of students as scab labour in the recent postal dispute.
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Demonstrate for free education in Manchester
From UMSU Activist.
This Monday the Students' Union will be holding a march against the marketisation of education and for a Free Education. Education has faced a consistent assault over the past two decades, first with the introduction of Fees, then the move to even higher top-up fees. At the same time we have also seen an increasing involvement of business in Education and moves by both our own President and the Government to create a market within Higher Education. The Students' Union believes that Education is a fundamental right and should be free, fair and accessible. On Monday, we're asking you to march with hundreds of students to protect that right.
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Education for freedom: an activist gathering
What would a democratic, egalitarian, sustainable education system look like? How do we get it?
This gathering, which will take place at the University of East London’s Dockland campus from 12:00-5:30pm on Sunday 21st October and is sponsored by Education Not for Sale, looks at the challenges facing radical and socialist activists in the education sector.
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Feminist Fightback website revamped
After some technical difficulties, Feminist Fightback is now back online.
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Demonstrate in solidarity with workers, women and students in Iran
As part of the week of action in support of Iranian workers supported by international unions including the International Transport Workers’ Federation, activists in Britain will be demonstrating outside the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Thursday 9 August.
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Support the postal workers!
Why you and your SU should support the postal workers’ dispute, and how you can.
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Cambridge ENS dayschool a success, say satisfied activists…
A short report from the recent activist dayschool organised by ENS supporters at Cambridge University.
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Feminist Fightback ‘07
Back for a second year, the Feminist Fightback activist conference will take place on Saturday 20th October 2007 at the University of East London.
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Tent State UK
20-22 June will see the UK’s first Tent State University - an alternative educational space run by activists, for activists.
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Cambridge ENS Activist Dayschool
On Saturday the 16th of June, in New Hall College, Cambridge, Cambridge Education Not for Sale are putting on a dayschool for student activists. It will run from 11AM to 5PM. The provisional programme is at the bottom of the email. It includes sessions on feminism, trade unions and student unions, living wage campaigns, the police and your rights, and activist skills such as writing propaganda, promoting actions and running an activist group on campus.
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Pimlico School resists Academy move
From activists at Pimlico School, London
Our school (Pimlico) faces being turned into an Academy by the government against the wishes of majority of stakeholders (parents, staff and students). Please help in the campaign to keep us a community school by signing the petition at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Pimlico/ and forwarding this email to everyone on your contacts list.
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Solidarity with Harlow lecturers
From UCU Left
This Saturday, Harlow tutors were joined by tutors from across London region as they lobbied Bill Rammel at his surgery. The lobby was called to protest at the threat by Harlow College management to impose a new set of contracts on staff. These contracts include forcing up to 35% of staff onto unqualified contracts which will lead to a cut in their salary of over £10,000; working a 10 hour weekday and 6 hours on a Saturday; no upper limit on the number of weekly and annual teaching contact hours and the loss of between 3 and 5 weeks holiday.
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Bath students to demonstrate against BNP
From Unite Against Fascism
Yesterday more than 100 students and staff at Bath University attended a meeting to discuss the response to the BNP presence on campus and Nick Griffin’s visit, due to take place on Monday 14 May. The staff trade unions - UCU, UNISON and Amicus - as well as students are mobilising for a protest against this visit. Students present reported that nearly 700 people have joined calls to oppose this visit so far and following a speech from Unite Against Fascism, those present agreed that as well as the protest another event to celebrate diversity should be organised at the University. They invited the involvement of Unite Against Fascism and Love Music Hate Racism.
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Workers fight job cuts at Anglia Ruskin University
On Tuesday 1 May, at 6pm, there will be a demonstration outside Anglia Ruskin University’s campus on East Road in Cambridge.
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Save Saddiq Abakar!
Save Sadiq Abakar - don’t send him back to Darfur - give him asylum!
The student union at Lambeth college is running a campaign to prevent the deportation of one of their members, Sadiq Abakar.
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Save Crichton Campus!
The campaign to save the Crichton Campus of Glasgow Uni in Dumfries is stepping up a gear, with a second phone blockade of the Principal Muir Russell. Russell (the guy who was responsible for the fiasco of the Scottish Parliament building) has decided to close Dumfries and Galloway’s only Higher Education institution, despite all the vital work it does for the region.
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Workers and students fight job cuts at Dundee University
From Dundee UCU
At a packed meeting of around one hundred staff and students at Dundee University today, organised by Dundee University and College Union, it was agreed on a unanimous vote to challenge the University Sustainability Review which proposed to close a number of units in the university and to consider making redundant what could be up to one hundred staff.
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Dumfries students protest against course cuts
Students at Glasgow University’s Crichton campus in Dumfries have been protesting against university management’s plan to withdraw funding.
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Free speech demo to defy legal threats at Sussex
From the Sussex Students Solidarity Committee
Students at Sussex University are set to defy threats of legal action for peacefully protesting on campus by staging another demonstration this Friday 2nd February.
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Save ESOL - stop cuts in English language rights!
From the University and College Union. Although ENS has reservations about working alongisde organisations representing college management, we support UCU’s efforts to defend their members and ESOL classes against cuts.
Concern is mounting rapidly over new funding restrictions on English as a Second Language. On 15 January UCU, working with the AoC, ACM, NATECLA, NIACE, Refugee Council, Unison, USDAW and others, is convening a meeting to launch a campaign for the restoration of entitlement. Travel expenses for delegates from outside London will be met (max two per UCU branch).
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Don’t let JJB Sports sack Chris Riley!
Three weeks ago, ENS brought you information about a strike by low-paid workers in a JJB Sports warehouse in Wigan. Read on for the latest developments…
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Stop the closures at Redhill College
UCU, Unison and the Social Care Association are campaigning against department closures due to happen next term at Redhill College, which caters for blind and partially sighted students and students with learning difficulties.
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Fighting McCarthyism at Dundee Uni
Students at Dundee University are fighting back against the presence of Special Branch officers on their campus. For more on the issue of McCarthyism on British university campuses, see here.
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Support the JJB Sports workers’ strike in Wigan!
As the burden of debt forces more and more students into the workplace, we often find ourselves employed by major high-street names and working long hours for low wages. ENS believes that workers’ self-organisation in the sectors in which students are employed is vital if students are to be protected at work. That’s why we support any action by workers to improve their pay and conditions, including current strike action by workers employed by the JJB Sport corporation.
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ENS Women versus the Tories…
The Tory Party recently held an event on women in politics, to highlight their commitment to increasing women’s representation by securing more Tory MPs. The event was called… “Shoes, Shopping and Politics.” ENS Women went along to tell the Tories what we thought…
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York ENS fights for free education
Following direct action by ENS supporters at Cambridge, the ENS group at York University staged a rally on their campus after handing in an anti-fees petition of more than 800 names to their Vice Chancellor.
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URGENT ACTION: Defend abortion rights - fight Nadine Dorries’ bill!
Tory MP Nadine Dorries has tabled a ‘Ten-Minute Rule Bill’ that calls for a reduction in the time-limit for legal abortions and an introduction in a mandatory delay for service provision. The Abortion Rights campaign is calling on pro-choice activists to lobby their MPs to oppose the bill. For more info, read on.
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Khatami protests continue
There are continuing protests at the visit of Mohammad Khatami - the former President of Iran - to Britain.
For details of the protests and ENS’s statement, read on.
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ENS on the NUS demo
(Click to enlarge)
Education Not for Sale activists from York, Cambridge, Sheffield, London and elsewhere joined forces for a ‘tax the rich’ contingent on yesterday’s NUS national demonstration. Although the demonstration as a whole was small (probably around 5,000 people) and characterised by NUS’s timid political demands (fighting only to defend the status quo rather than to abolish fees altogether), the ENS contingent and the presence of other radicals on the demonstration meant that it was given some political spine.
After the demo, around 40 ENS supporters and other grassroots campaigners met to discuss direct action. Activists who have already organised actions on their campuses agreed to contribute to a ‘how-to’ guide that will appear on this website soon, along with a fuller report of the demonstration.
For more pictures, click here
Cambridge ENS occupy lecture hall for free education
On October 26 Cambridge ENS turned a radical lecture into an occupation to protest for free education. Refusing to leave the lecture hall at the end of their booking, after a talk delivered by Joyce Canaan, the activists continued their teach-in all night, hearing from Ruth Rikowski and Ed Emery, amongst others, as well as discussing future plans for activism in Cambridge.
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Mobilise for the NUS demo - take direct action against top-up fees
Join the ENS contingent to say “Tax the rich”
On Sunday October 29, NUS will be holding a demonstration “for fair access” in London, under the slogan “Admission impossible”. The fact that a demo is happening at all is progress. In 2004, the NUS leadership moved its education funding demo to Cardiff, resulting in a turn-out of less than 2,000 and last year - the year in the run-up to the introduction of top-up fees - cancelled it altogether!
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Emergency Protest - Stop persecution of LGBT people in Uganda!
NUS LGBT have organised a demonstration to protest the continued persecution of LGBT people in Uganda - assemble 4pm, Friday 22 September 2006 Ugandan High Commission, 58-59 Trafalgar Square, London WC2.
See below for a statement from NUS LGBT Officers Scott Cuthbertson and Claire Anderson
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Support Robin Sivapalan - defend workers’ right to protest
On 7 September, Tony Blair and Education Secretary Alan Johnson visited Quintin Kynaston school in north London to announce the first wave of 28 “trust schools” run by business, charitable and religious organisations - of which QK will be one of two in London. They were met by a demonstration, supported by Unison and NUT locally and School Students Against the War, and composed mainly of students from the school, expressing opposition to government policy on trust schools, privatisation and the wars in Iraq and Lebanon.
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Draft agenda
For the ENS activist gathering, 27th May
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Lambeth College march against cuts
Thursday 11 March will see a two walkouts by staff and students at Lambeth College to protest against cuts being made to Further Education in general as well as the £2.3 million of cuts being made at Lambeth College. These cuts will affect all areas of education and are resulting in compulsory redundancies.
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Students fight for asylum rights
Students across the country are campaigning against the deportation of asylum seekers and in solidarity with hunger-striking detainees.
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Student activist conference, Sussex University, Saturday 27 May
Cosponsored by Education Not for Sale, University of Sussex Students’ Union, Earth First Students and Students Against Sweatshops. Speakers include a French anti-CPE campaigner and activists from the American United Students Against Sweatshops campaign.
Click here for the draft agenda
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Demonstrate for free education at Parliament, 1 March!
NUS has once again gone out of its way to prevent mass action against top-up fees, calling a lobby of Parliament on 1 March rather than a demonstration, refusing to demand free education for all and inviting a variety of right-wing speakers - including a Lib Dem education spokesman, Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell and Tory MP Boris Johnson!
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We demand sweat-free campuses!
from No Sweat
We are circulating a letter-petition demanding for sweat-free campuses (covering college merchandise, purchasing and employment rights and wages of cleaners, security and other college staff), which will be presented to Universities UK during the national anti-sweatshop campus week of action, 11-18 February 2006.
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Defend freedom of speech! Defend the Matthew Boulton Two!
On 5 January, Assed Baig and Darrell Williams were excluded from Matthew Boulton College in Birmingham for distributing a political newsletter. As a result they will not be able to complete the last four months of their course and their possibility of applying to university is in jeopardy.
Their publication, the Guerilla, discussed issues including the Iraq war, corporate influence in education, student apathy and the college's ban on the formation of religious societies.
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SECOND ENS GATHERING: SATURDAY 10TH DECEMBER
12-6pm, Leeds University
We will be discussing ENS’s campaigns including on education funding and workers’ rights, as well as our intervention into next year’s NUS conference. For more information email daniel.randall@nus.org.uk
Kat Fletcher “sells” top-up fees - don’t let her sell us out! Sign the online petition!
The NUS leadership, and above all NUS National President Kat Fletcher, have spent the last month preparing for what looks like a massive betrayal in the fight for free education. Fletcher has committed NUS to supporting a Government campaign explaining and justifying the new student funding system, based on variable top-up fees, due to come into effect in 2006.
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Petition against sell-out on top-up-fees
Click here to sign a petition deploring NUS President Kat Fletcher’s participation in the Government’s campaign to explain and justify its higher education funding policy, and her equivocation on opposition to top-up fees and support for free education over the recent period
Support demonstration against Plymouth campus closure
By Daniel Randall, NUS National Executive
Plymouth University is planning to shut its Rolle Campus, in Exmouth, in 2008 - despite the fact that it is home to 4000 students and recently received an excellent report from Ofsted. Plymouth Students’ Union is opposing the closure as disastrous for both students and the local community.
Please support their struggle!
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The George Fox Six are on trial from the 26th September!
Join them at court on Monday to show solidarity and support Free Speech and “Education not Exploitation”!
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Support floods in for sacked AUT members at Brunel University
Click here for the mass petition to support the two Association of University Teachers activists sacked by Brunel University
(August 2005)
Build student solidarity with sacked Gate Gourmet workers!
Earlier this month, Gate Gourmet, a catering firm producing food for airlines including British Airways, sacked 670 mostly Asian women workers at Heathrow Airport in West London after they staged a strike to protest at planned job losses. When they did, hundreds of baggage handlers, flight crew and check-in staff also walked out in an illegal but magnificent show of solidarity.
These workers are now back at work, but the Gate Gourmet workers’ struggle for their jobs and their rights is continuing.
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Putting political activism back in the student movement
The Education Not for Sale conference, organised jointly with Students Against Sweatshops and University of East London SU, takes place in London on September 3. 12-7pm, University of East London Docklands campus, University Way, E16 (DLR: Cyprus).
(September 2005)
Students at Lancaster University face fines and imprisonment for protesting against corporate greed! Pass this model motion in your Union!
Motion in support of the George Fox Six, for the right to peaceful protest
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Event Calendar
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