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Tube strikes: prepare for more

From Tubeworker blog Ten thousand Tube workers struck on 1 March, with a near-complete shut down of the network. We will strike again on 3 March. This is the largest strike on London Underground since 2015. A strong strike may force London Underground (LU) to reconsider cuts. But in all likelihood, the strikes on 1 and 3 March will not be sufficient to win the dispute. We will need further action. The pensions review is due to report on 31 March. Striking now gives us a chance to shape its outcome by making it clear we won’t tolerate attacks on our pensions. Our strikes are “pre-emptive self...

Student activism is alive, kicking and occupying at Sheffield University

Alice and Gonzo are two of the student activists who occupied five buildings at the University of Sheffield during the first week of industrial action by the University and College Union (UCU). It’s a rainy afternoon on 14 February, and what a better Valentine’s Day gift to the university than to begin a week-long campaign of occupations. At around 2 pm, 16 students entered Jessop West on campus, heading in pairs to locations picked to secure as much access to the building - including prime banner-hanging locations - as possible. Once we had spread out across four floors, the security liaison...

Unison to join in at Goldsmiths

From 14 February University and College Union (UCU) members at Goldsmiths in south London are joining both national strikes and local action. In the third week of the strike (28 February to 4 March) UCU members should be joined by Unison members who have recently balloted over redundancies affecting their members. The local action has entered a bitter phase as, after months of industrial action, the college’s Senior Management Team continues to go for 46 compulsory redundancies of professional and academic staff, despite the college having made huge savings through its voluntary redundancy...

Tube strikes on 1 and 3 March

From Tubeworker The RMT union has called strikes on London Underground for 1 and 3 March. These strikes will be the first time RMT’s entire LU membership - which includes workers in all functions: drivers, station staff, fleet and engineering workers, signallers, service controllers, and others — has struck together since 2015. The union has three clear demands: no reduction in staffing levels, no detrimental changes to terms and conditions, and no detrimental changes to pension arrangements. LU bosses have refused to give any assurances; on the contrary, they have announced a job cuts...

Goldsmiths fights redundancies

The new round of local strikes by the University and College Union (UCU) at Goldsmiths University of London — ten days over three weeks, up to 4 March — takes place after the college’s Senior Management Team refused to back down on their targeted 46 compulsory redundancies, despite the college having made huge savings through its voluntary redundancy scheme. This action follows 15 days of strikes last term. If Goldsmiths management get away with these cuts, much more will follow; plans will destroy ground-breaking courses (e.g. in Black and Queer History), downgrade humanities, and recreate...

Goldsmiths out from 7 February

From Monday 7 February the University and College Union (UCU) at Goldsmiths University of London will be striking again to stop the redundancies and restructuring plan which the management claims is necessary to reduce the college’s deficit. This strike action, which will take place on ten days over three weeks with a break for reading week, follows 15 days of strike action last term. While autumn action pushed back the timetable for the redundancies, management failed to respond positively to any of the union’s counter-proposals in the collective consultation process, indicating their...

UCU dispute: build the next stages

With terms drawing to a close in mid-December, university campuses are becoming much quieter places, and will remain so until early-mid January. Whilst taking much-needed respite following the end of a busy term and kicking off industrial action, University and College Union (UCU) activists and supporters now have ideal opportunities to build our actions into next term. There are five clear things activists should focus on: recruiting to the union; mobilising members to take part in “action short of a strike” (ASOS) and join next term’s pickets; getting more branches out; building solidarity...

Tube: unite all grades to fight the cuts

Abridged from the Tubeworker blog The ballot of members in Transport for London (TfL) and London Underground (LU) being run by rail union RMT between 13 December and 10 January is on action against cuts to any grade’s jobs and conditions and to all our pensions. It is not just about six hundred station jobs at threat. Those are just the first slice in a long series of cuts. TfL management have finally shown their hand — or, more accurately, the first of many hands they intend to deal — over cuts to improve their finances after lockdown. Don’t think that grades other than station staff, first...

Goldsmiths sets plans for January

With one week remaining of the three weeks of strike at Goldsmiths University of London (23 November to 13 December), the local branch of the University and College Union (UCU) is planning an escalation of its dispute against management’s threatened 52 job cuts, part of an extensive “fire and rehire” plan, alongside radical restructuring at the college which will see further cuts. Already the branch has requested the national union apply an academic boycott on Goldsmiths. The national union will back up the local dispute by asking for a range of actions which might include asking external...

Goldsmiths union calls for boycott to back strike

A week into three weeks of strike action at Goldsmiths University of London (23 November to 13 December), the local branch of the University and College Union (UCU) is now looking at ways to escalate and diversify the dispute. For example, the branch plans to request the national union applies an academic boycott on Goldsmiths. If agreed, the national union will back up the local dispute, now that it is facing management intransigence, by asking for external academics to avoid contact with the university in a smaller or larger range of ways. That could include: not speaking and lecturing at...

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