Coordinated FE strike against miserable wage offer
Link to this page: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/1150/33108
From The Socialist, October 6, 2021
City and Islington picket line October 5, photo Paul Mattsson (Click to enlarge)
Members of the Socialist Party at UCU
College workers from ten branches of the University and Colleges (UCU) went on strike as part of a coordinated wage response on September 28. Members of the Socialist Party have shown solidarity on the picket lines and have started discussions on the way forward for the disputes. We also talked about how to tackle the broader issues facing college workers, many of which relate to running colleges as if it were a business.
Everyone we spoke to was angry with the meager 1% pay offer – a real-term pay cut – especially as they were working longer hours and with a higher workload than ever before. . At City and Islington College, workers told us, “We are very sensitive. It is not only about the remuneration, but about the devaluation of our work, the workload and the restructuring.
We spoke to Elena, Korina, Inci and Anne on the picket line at Enfield College. They told us: “The working conditions have deteriorated. We don’t have time to prepare anything new or new. We have an additional workload without additional pay. Prices are rising faster than our wages. It’s really stressful ”.
“We just want a fair wage for the work we do. We just want to afford a living. I love my job and the students, but there is so much work, so much we have to do outside of it. hours of work. “
“For me, the workload is a big issue. PCs, whiteboards, nothing is working properly. You don’t have time to do your job. One day there weren’t enough chairs. to make things progress. The students are great and there is a good team of staff here. We want to be happy in our work. We don’t want to be stressed all the time. “
The threat of a strike was enough to force managers back to the bargaining table at five of the 15 colleges that voted to take action, all offering higher rates of pay as well as other wage concessions.
The workers we spoke to at Tottenham were confident their action would also translate into a better deal from management. However, they were ready to see the dispute come to an end if it did arise, including taking action beyond the ten days currently scheduled.
Rising national insurance, inflation and fuel shortages were also a common topic of discussion on the picket line.
As one picketer put it: “We know that everything is connected, the shortage of gasoline, the low wages, the workload … it is the accumulation of wealth by the few that affects the mass of people. people and families are really struggling. ”
The strike continued from 5 to 7 October and, once again, members of the Socialist Party took part in picket lines. The UCU has indicated that it will announce other dates if better offers are not available.
The Socialist Party asks:
- Full public funding to provide quality education to all; reverse cuts and end college privatization and commodification
- A national contract for continuing training workers giving:
- A salary increase for all higher education workers of at least 10% (as voted on at the UCU Higher Education Conference)
- A maximum limit of working hours
- Ending the college wage struggle: restoring national and collective wage negotiations
Financial appeal
The coronavirus crisis has exposed the class character of society in many ways. This clearly shows to many that it is the working class that makes society run, not the CEOs of big companies.
The results of austerity have been shown graphically as utilities struggle to cope with the crisis.
- The material of the Socialist Party is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report workers fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels etc.
- We must be prepared for the stormy events to come and the need to arm the labor movements with a socialist program – a program that puts the health and needs of mankind before the profits of the few.
Inevitably, during the crisis, we were not able to sell the socialist and raise funds as we normally would.
We therefore urge all our viewers to donate to our Fight Fund.
In The Socialist from October 6, 2021:
What we think
The bakers’ union disaffiliates from Labor
New
Sarah Everard trial reveals police abuse of power
Conservatives push millions into poverty with universal credit cut
Capitalist climate hypocrisy
Railroad bosses cook the books in another capitalist market failure
Glasgow’s pay equity battle to resume
Paying the NHS and caregivers to deal with worker shortages
Workplace News
NEU: National executive accepts campaign on wages
Coordinated FE strike against miserable wage offer
Unison LG members reject insulting salary offer
Unite Health members say no to 3% and vote for action
Tesco warehouse representative fights for reinstatement
Scunthorpe steel scaffolders strike for a pay rise
Brighton waste workers retire
Economy
The economic instability of capitalism in the “new normal”
Young people fight for jobs
Fight for our future
Young people fight for jobs – why we march on October 9
Ten years since our 330-mile Jarrow Walk for Jobs
Campaign news
Barking NHS: “Sorry, please try again later”
We have the right to breathe fresh air
Nottingham: punish Labor for cruel cuts
London protest for abortion rights in Texas
Northwestern Socialists join march against Conservative conference
Broken Fight Fund Goal – £ 31,703 Raised
Obituaries
Obituary – Dave Hardaker, 1952-2021
Review
Caffeine and capitalism – a symbiotic relationship
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