Leeds Uni anti-cuts campaigner respond to LUU scabbing

Posted on January 18, 2010
Filed Under AUT/Natfhe dispute, Articles, News

Strike Don't Scab
Conor Whelan, an activist in the anti-cuts campaign at Leeds University, responds to the decision of the students union to launch a campaign aimed at getting students to lobby against potential strike action by lecturers.

The majority of students who are aware of what is going at Leeds University are greatly disappointed with the individuals in Leeds University Union (LUU) who are supposed to be representing them. We were shocked to come back from Christmas to find that our Communications and Internal Affairs Officer, Jak Codd, and our Education Officer, Mike Gladstone, have launched a campaign to lobby students to tell tutors not to strike. This is under the ironic title of ‘Education First’. They are claiming that strike action is posing a major threat to the student experience, while stating: ”We have repeatedly been given assurance in these meetings that current students will not lose out.” These assurances are, frankly, wrong. Leeds has announced a £35 million cut in spending, which is likely to result in 700 job losses. The Vice-Chancellor has admitted compulsory redundancies are not to be ruled out. Courses are at risk of being moved to other departments or even closed to new students. The Faculty of Biological Sciences is being merged with other Faculties, with a loss of 70 staff in the process. Even our Vice-Chancellor has finally admitted in his appeal in The Guardian that cuts in Higher Education “will have a devastating effect […] on students and staff”.

The ‘Education First’ Campaign comes out of a motion passed by the Activities Assembly of the LUU. It was a long motion with a number of points. Most of them were good, such as this union resolved to: “defend the education of all students at the University of Leeds throughout this turbulent time” and “to publish on the LUU website information from both the University and the campus trade unions so students can be informed of both sides of the argument.” While there are many paragraphs about how “we [Jak Codd and Mike Gladstone] are pleased” with the university’s platitudes, there is a single link at the bottom of a long page to the Defend Jobs at Leeds, Defend Education’s Facebook group for students (with 1253 members) for “more information from the staff campaign”. They have breached an agreement signed by UCU (representing academic staff) and LUU, which stated “we pledge to campaign together on defending education”. This breach is a blow against the security of the student experience, those staff that constitute the quality of education, the 800 years of work to make this country’s Higher Education what it is, and Britain’s chances of a long term economic recovery.

It is laughable that they call themselves student representatives, when they are not even supported by all of the Activities Executive or Assembly, and have not made any attempt to consult with students. Instead, they issue orders, such as the strap-line of their campaign: “tell your lecturers that strike action could damage your degree.” They do not represent me or the student-founded group Leeds University Against Cuts. I am not alone in being furious.