Defending jobs

Job cuts have been announced at the Open University and at Liverpool University.

Cuts at the Open University would result in 41 degree courses being axed, leaving only 71, reducing the number of courses available by a third. The University plans to save £100m from its £420m annual budget, yet the University has spent £2.5m on consultancy fees to KMPG.

From money put aside for redundancies, the UCU estimates that the University is planning for at least 250-300 voluntary redundancies in the coming year, and for compulsory redundancies to follow.

On Tuesday 6 March teachers in West Virginia, USA, were celebrating winning all five of their demands after a nine-day statewide strike and included an occupation of the Capitol.

Teachers defeated an expansion of charter schools (similar to academy schools in the UK), a proposal to eliminate seniority, and a ″paycheck-protection″ bill which would have ended union dues being collected from pay. They won a significant pay rise and a mechanism to change unfair health-insurance practices.

As previously reported in Solidarity (461, 7 February), the Communication Workers′ Union Postal Executive has endorsed the agreement reached between CWU negotiators and Royal Mail, which will now be put to a vote of the membership.

On 22-23 February, campuses across the country will see the first of 14 days of strikes announced by the University and College Union (UCU).

Lecturers strike over pensions

Staff at 61 universities have voted to strike in a dispute over pensions, beginning on 22 February.

University bosses want to remove guaranteed pension provision, in favour of a “defined contribution” scheme where the eventual pay-out is dependent on performance of investments. Staff face losing up to £200,000 over the course of retirement.

As strikes by train guards in the RMT union against the imposition of “Driver Only Operation” continue, the role of drivers, most of whom are in the Aslef union, is thrown into sharper and sharper relief.

On MerseyRail, activists have organised magnificent solidarity which has led to Aslef drivers refusing en masse to refuse to cross RMT picket lines. On other companies the picture is less positive.

Electricians working on the Crossrail development in London struck on Wednesday 10 January after contractor Balfour Beatty refused to pay industry standard project completion payments.

RMT guards on Merseyrail, Northern, Greater Anglia, South Western and Southern Train Operating Companies struck on 8, 10, and 12 January, as the fight against Driver Only Operation escalates.

Guards on Northern were very solid again, and Merseyrail workers kept up their usual high standard of solidarity with the vast majority of guards supporting the strike, as well as almost all drivers, who are members of Aslef. Elsewhere the support seems to have been patchier, for example on South Western where the urban depots are solid but the outlying depots are reportedly less so.

On 2 January a notice appeared on the staff noticeboards of some McDonald’s stores announcing a significant pay rise for workers.

Pay for under 18s will now go up to a minimum of £5.75, under 21s to a minimum of £6.75, under 25s to a minimum of £7.95, and over 25s to a minimum of £8 in London. All workers will get an above inflation pay rise of between 5.4 and 6.3%. It is the biggest pay rise McDonald’s workers have had in 10 years.