The situation at the University of Arts London is part of the bigger picture of course cuts, redundancies and deficits across the whole of the public sector in Britain. Why should students and staff pay for the economic crisis with their jobs and education?
UAL Marxists have organised a meeting for Tuesday 24th (6pm at the student
hub, 65 Davies Street) to discuss the course cuts and redundancies that
are taking place in UAL. A serious situation is emerging, which
ultimately could affect all the students and staff at the university.
Your education, your job, the quality of your work, all are under
threat.
The meeting title is "Education Cuts: the
Socialist Alternative"; there will be speakers from Unison and from the
local Labour Party (both in private capacity), and the discussion will
be around the slogan "No Cuts, No Fees, Commercial interests out of
Education". Please come and put your point of view and help us to
discuss the way forward.
Below are PDF files advertising the
meeting. Please print these and distribute them to your
friends and colleagues.
Management
at LCC appear to have blundered in their handling of the recent course
cuts and redundancies and provoked a dispute which they probably did
not expect. In the face of opposition they may retreat, offer to
negotiate, follow agreed procedures etc. But – this will not stop the
cuts, only delay them.
Carrington is saying he needs
savings across the University as a whole of £7m in 2009-10, more than 5
times the shortfall that led to 38 redundancies and 16 course closures
at LCC. This suggests at least 200 further redundancies across the
University as a whole, and if course cuts are in the same ratio,
perhaps 80 further course closures. This will devastate the
University’s ability to provide genuine and quality education.
A
recent Guardian article (29th September) said that at recent education
conferences and meetings there has been talk of 15% cuts, possibly 25%
in some areas. This is consciously being hidden from staff and students
– "but is it helpful to parade it?" was the quote from David Eastwood,
vice-chancellor at the University of Birmingham.
Rather
than being picked off college by college and University by University,
our unions – UCU, Unison, GMB, the NUS – must organise joint nationwide
opposition to all education cuts. To those who say the membership are
not interested – we will see. When people’s jobs and education are on
the line their views may change! But first the union leaderships must
show – leadership. They have the resources to organise a serious
national campaign, on every campus and in every college in the country.
Nationwide action will be needed – a national joint strike by staff and
students under the slogan of no cuts, no fees, commercial interests out
of education.
We repeat our view. This is a crisis
of capitalism – a classic capitalist crisis of overproduction as
described by Marx more than a 100 years ago. The crisis has been
worsened by an over-extension of credit over the last period. This gave
capitalism a temporary breathing space after the crises of the 70’s and
early ’80’s, at the cost of eventually a deeper and more severe crisis.
Now a long and deep recession, even a depression comparable to the
1930’s, is possible – the classic cyclical behaviour of capitalism
which Marx described.
The Labour government has
nationalised the banks but has fallen over itself to say it will not
interfere with their running. Given the vast sums of public money that
have been given to the banks this is nonsense. Noise about limiting
salaries and bonuses is merely window dressing – and will be used to
attack the wages of ordinary bank employees at some stage, whilst the
fat cats will still get the cream.
Use the
nationalised banks to direct spending and investment to where it is
needed in the economy. Take back into public ownership the privatised
industries, the railways, the utilities, which are being wrecked and
bled dry by their private owners. Nationalise the major companies, the
top 200 giant concerns that dominate economic and political life. Use
their resources to plan and develop the economy. This is the answer to
the present cycle of decline and decay, which is all that the senile
and corrupt system of capitalism can offer.
No cuts! No fees! Commercial interests out!
Download flyer this as a PDF:
UAL Marxist Society Flyer (Front)
UAL Marxist Society Flyer (Back)
