Workers' Liberty

Bonjour, la classe!
A reply to Koos Couvée
In his article, "ENS: Why have we lost?", Koos Couvée raises vital questions relating to the strategy of the student movement.

About 400 students and academics protested today, May 28th at Nottingham University against the attempts currently under way to deport Hicham Yezza, a former university student now employed on the

It sounds like some sort of elaborate practical joke, revolutionary politics as re-imagined by the Bash Street Kids.

In the last month, Sussex University (in Brighton) has seen hundreds-strong meetings of students and education workers to oppose the anti-democratic, pro-business “reforms” being pushed by the university’s management team. The first mass assembly of the Sussex Education Not for Sale campaign was attended by over 160 people; the second, by more than 300.

On 21 February, around 100 students from the University of Nottingham and the local area took to the campus grounds in a demonstration demanding their basic democratic right to free speech.

It’s time to challenge Labour Students for control of the NUS women’s campaign. For Sofie’s manifesto, supporters’ list and more on the campaign, see the ENS Women website — socialistfeminist.org.uk

Since the takeover of the NUS Women’s Campaign by Labour Students four years ago, the potential for student women’s organising to lead an active, political regeneration of the women’s movement has been squandered.

Students at Nottingham University are calling a demonstration for 21 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.

Forty activists attended Education Not for Sale’ s “Education for Freedom” dayschool at the University of East London on Sunday 21 October.

Leeds university has cancelled a talk by US academic Matthias Kuentzel for "security reasons" after it received Islamist emails complaining about the talk.

By Sofie Buckland

ON 29 October, the National Union of Students held a national demonstration in London, under the branding “Admission:Impossible”. The demo called for “fair access” and for the government not to raise tuition fees in 2010.

Two news stories grabbed my attention today. Firstly, that applications for university places are down 3.6%. And secondly, that Army recruitment has risen by 9%.

This is a longer version of a leaflet given out at the UCU left conference in London on June 24th 2006.

Last Thursday, June 8th, I emailed the text below to leading Engage and AUT activists, Jon Pike and Dave Hirsh as well as Engage 'Director', Jane Ashworth, regarding the settlement of the UCU dispute. As yet I await any confirmation that they will be fighting this appalling settlement.

The deal which the University employers, the UCEA, has made with the new union, the University & College Union (UCU) has caused outrage amongst the membership of both component unions, NATFHE and the AUT.

By delegates to the conference of further and higher education lecturers’ union natfhe

A resolution calling for an academic boycott of Israel was passed at our conference [on 29 May] passing by 106 votes to 74 (with 21 abstentions). The debate and vote reflects the less than perfectly democratic make-up of NATFHE conference — it is made up of delegates from regions, not branches. Nonetheless this was a very poor decision.

On 22 April, the Association of University Teachers (AUT), at its conference, voted to impose an academic boycott on two Israeli universities. The decision has led to legal objections, on grounds of which the AUT has told its members to hold off from any action until they receive guidelines from the union; and to demands by some AUT members for a special conference to reconsider.

As democrats, socialists, advocates of Israeli withdrawal from the Occupied Territories, and supporters of the right of the Palestinian people to an independent state of their own, alongside Israel, we call on British academics to reject the moves for a renewed academic boycott of Israel due to be debated at the council of the Association of University Teachers on 20 April.

The market in Higher Education provision made possible by last year’s Higher Education Act, which allowed the introduction of variable top-up fees, is not taking the exact shape most student activists predicted it would, but it is definitely taking shape.

By Alan Clarke, NUS executive (personal capacity)

According to Barclays, top-up fees will mean average student debt rising from £18,000 for students graduating in 2004 to £34,000 for those graduating in 2010. That estimate was made before universities declare what top-up fee they will charge. According a Guardian survey, two-thirds plan to charge the maximum possible!

Education not for sale!

NATFHE members are in dispute with London Metropolitan University over new contracts. The letter below - which they have sent to MPs - explains the details of the dispute.

Negotiations are kicking off in Universities across the UK. The framework agreement reached with the national employers, means that although the pay spine is agreed, where members end up on it is up to local negotiation and the outcome of local job evaluation / grading exercises.

There is very little exchange of information across the sector other than through official union channels and even less between the unions. It appears that AUT have had a couple of good agreements already (notably at Loughbough).

By Coral Harding, University of East London Student Union women's officer and Campaign for Free Education

Almost 100 students occupied the UEL Vice-Chancellor's offices on 29 April in protest at plans to make cuts in the university's graphic fine arts department. Proposals to cut teaching hours directly have been beaten back by a joint campaign of the student union and the lecturer's union, but the administration still proposes to make major reductions in teaching provision by merging a number of different single honours courses.

• Going bust for an education

• We don't want your vote
• BNP's new Euro-bigots
• 'Left-wing' xenophobia
• Bridges to nowhere

Going bust for an education

A record number of people are expected to declare themselves bankrupt this summer. Many of them will be students trying to get rid of their credit card, student loan and other debts. According to the Department for Education and Skills, 899 students and graduates became insolvent last year, compared with 276 in 2002.

In Manchester 400 students and lecturers marched together in support of the two-day strike on 25-26 February by the Association of University Teachers against their proposed pay deal, and against top-up fees for students in higher education. Across the country, the AUT strike had led to university departments shutting down and enthusiastic picketing by a normally non-militant group of workers.

Students: back the lecturers' pay fight!

The successful vote by the lecturers' union AUT for strike action provides a massive opportunity in the fight against top-up fees. Joint student/lecturer action of this sort is even more unprecedented than co-ordinated action between different trade unions. As well as providing a perfect opportunity to mobilise students in the run up to the Higher Education Bill's third reading at the end of March, it is the perfect rebuttal to Government attempts to play students and staff off against each other.

By Alan Clarke

So close…- for this Labour government, with its huge majority and addiction to control-freakery, to come within five votes of being defeated on a flagship policy was indeed humiliating. The rousing of the normally comatose Parliamentary Labour Party to destroy Blair's 160-plus majority is a reflection of massive hostility to top-up fees among students, in the general public and throughout the labour movement; but in politics organisation is everything, and Blair's victory is impossible to understand in isolation from the weakness, both organisational and political, of the anti-top up rebellion.

As a student supporter of Solidarity/Alliance for Workers' Liberty I was a little disappointed with the Solidarity headline, "Top-Up Fees: Resist the Market Principle" (3/43). That seemed to me to be inadequate on a number of levels, and was perhaps chosen for all the wrong reasons.

By Sally Murdock

As the first House of Commons vote on the Higher Education Bill, scheduled for 27 January, draws near, it is becoming increasing clear that the Government's arguments for top-up fees are unbeatable in their own terms.