United stand: 1,000 march to halt education cutbacks
Published: 7 May, 2010
by EMINE SINMAZ
“NO ifs, no buts, no education cuts!” chanted nearly 1,000 demonstrators outside King’s College London (KCL) on Wednesday, writes Emine Sinmaz.
Students and academics from KCL and University of Westminster – two of 14 higher education institutions to vote in favour of strike action – joined the two day industrial action in a row over jobs.
More than 400 full time posts could be axed and entire departments shut down at Westminster’s two leading universities in July.
University College Union (UCU) branch secretary at Westminster University, Peter McLoughlin, said: “Management’s decision to seek a 10 per cent cut in staff before July has never been justified by any of the figures they have produced. Savings could be made over a longer period without making people redundant.”
President of UCU at KCL, Jim Wolfreys, added: “The message we want to send to our management is that staff and students are standing together to defend education at King’s.”
University College London (UCL) bosses moved to avert strike after hammering out a last minute deal with the \unions.
KCL departments threatened by the changes include engineering, dental microbiology, equality and diversity and the institute of psychiatry, and at Westminster it is computing and languages.
Students at Westminster – who are fighting to save their courses from closure – have staged a series of events to rouse the student body’s “slumbering” militancy.
More than 50 students occupied the office of the Vice Chancellor, Geoffrey Petts, in March.
Development Studies and International Relations student, Gabriele Piazza, said: “The occupation itself is not the achievement – but it has helped to raise awareness and show that there will be resistance.”
The strike at King’s is the second action there this year .