Support the UCU strike

The lecturers' union, UCU, will be carrying out rolling strike action from 17 March culminating in a national day of action on 24 March. This week includes budget day and leads well into the TUC demonstration on 26 March.

Ian Pattison, Leeds University Against Cuts

The government and university managements are attempting to impose thousands of job cuts. For example, in Leeds, vice chancellor Michael Arthur is trying to bulldoze through over 1,200 job losses, and close the classics and joint honours departments this year alone. This will deny many people the right to a decent education.

Over the last few months students have led an inspiring mass movement that has put pressure on the unstable Con-Dem coalition. Unlike the National Union of Students, the UCU has supported students and still supports free education.

If students want to win the battle against fees and cuts, we need to look wider than just ourselves. We need the might of the working class which, when taking collective action, has the power to bring the government to its knees.

We therefore need student solidarity like never before on the UCU picket lines. We need student strikes and a mass turnout of students to help convince others not to go into university on the days of the strikes.

Student anti-cuts campaigns and activists should be organising joint strike day rallies with UCU and using the strikes to build for future mass action linked to the struggle of education workers.