Education round-up

Birmingham university strikes over pay

Support staff at Birmingham University struck over low pay last Thursday and Friday.

Over 100 Unison union members turned out in the rain to take part in protests.

Support staff who earn as little as £13,200 a year compared to the vice chancellor’s £419,000 salary.

Students, including newly elected student union officers, joined the protest in a show of unity between students and staff.

Matt Raine, secretary, Birmingham University Unison

Don’t sack Manchester Met rep

Workers are preparing to lobby governors at Manchester Metropolitan University in defence of union rep Christine Vie.

Christine, who has worked at the university for 20 years, is the only worker facing compulsory redundancy.

Christine is vice chair of the UCU union at the university and is also on the union’s national executive committee.

Management want to close the department she works in and make her compulsorily redundant.

Christine told Socialist Worker, “They want to make me redundant by 31 July.

“I’ve tried to get redeployment to work in a different department. But management have said they are not prepared to pay for retraining.”

The lobby is at 9am, 29 June, Ormond Building. Rush messages of support to c.vie@mmu.ac.uk and messages of protest to john.brooks@mmu.ac.uk

Sign the petition at ucu.org.uk/supportchristinevie

Salford university fights redundancies

Lecturers at Salford university walked out on strike on Tuesday of this week against compulsory redundancies.

More than 70 percent of the UCU union members backed strikes in a recent ballot.

Scottish protest over teaching cuts

Education workers and students lobbied the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh on Wednesday of last week.

They were protesting a 21 percent cut in funding for teaching and learning and the loss of over 1,000 jobs in further education.