Statement from UCU at University of Sussex:
Day of Action in Defence of Education
Wednesday 5th May – in Brighton
City College, University of Sussex, University of Brighton
Strike ; Demonstrate ; Rally!
On Wednesday 5th May thousands of lecturers in Further and Higher and Adult Education will be on strike. In London alone, there will be 11 FE colleges affected and three universities, Kings College, University College London (UCL) and Westminster. Here in Brighton, the lecturers and academic-related staff will be on strike at the University of Sussex. At the University of Brighton and in City College, staff and students will be demonstrating in defence of education.
Why is this happening? Higher education has been hit with a series of funding cuts that now total close to £1bn, while further education has been told to make savings of £340m in the next academic year. Funding cuts have now gone from tough words from party leaders for their sound-bites ahead of an election to the stark reality of people losing jobs, potential students
missing out on education, and existing students facing larger classes and less access to tutors and to services.
All of this, we must remember, is to pay for the deficits created by the bankers’ crisis, and for the wars in Afghanistan and in Iraq, adventures to which the majority in the country is opposed.
Sally Hunt, the General Secretary of the lecturers’ union (the UCU), condemned the cuts: 'All the tough talk about cuts has moved on and it is no longer figures on paper, but people's jobs and access to education that are disappearing.
We believe in the power of education to make a real difference to peoples’ lives and do not think we should be slashing funding at a time when more people than ever need access to education.
UCU members are still on the side of education and they will be fighting to save jobs and defend education. That is why there is strike action on May 5th, on the eve of the General Election, and why the UCU is holding rallies and demonstrations up and down the country in defence of education.
To all students and staff at universities and colleges in the Sussex area and all local people and trade unionists who do not believe that education should be sacrificed for the bankers or for the cost of the wars...
JOIN US on WEDNESDAY MAY 5TH !
Visit the UCU picket lines at the University of Sussex at any time during the day of the 5th to bring solidarity greetings.
Join UCU members and students from City College, and the Universities of Brighton and Sussex, on the demonstration through Brighton (Wednesday afternoon, 5th May) at 4.30 from
The Level on the Lewes Road to The Old Ship Hotel on the seafront.
Whether you are staff or students, or a member of the public, come to the UCU rally in The Old Ship Hotel by Ship Street from 5.30 – 8.00pm, May 5th.
Chair: Jelena Timotijevic (UCU Brighton). Speakers to include: Alasdair Hunter (National President of the UCU); Paul Cecil and Jim Guild (Chair and Secretary of the UCU at the University of Sussex); Tom Wills (President) and Syed Bokhiri from the University of Sussex Students’ Union; members of the University of Brighton Students’ Union; Sue Tribe (Adult and Continuing Education, Brighton); Tom Hickey (University of Brighton and National Executive UCU); Micheal O’Connell and Alison Kelly (Brighton City College); Michael Moran (Regional Official, UCU); … and prospective Parliamentary candidates who have been invited to give their views on the education cuts!
For more information visit the campaign website at savesussexeducation.wordpress.com/
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Meeting Dates
Meetings take place on the second Wednesday of the month
We alternate between executive committee meetings and full trades council meetings. All delegates are encouraged to attend full meetings and any trade union member may attend as a visitor.
The next meeting of the Trades Council is on Wednesday 13th December 2023, 7.30pm, Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton BN1 1AF
Email BrightonTradesCouncil@gmail.com to be informed of meeting dates and times.
How to get involved
Contact: In the first instance contact the General Secretary Andy Richards at brightontradescouncil@gmail.com
Trades union councils consist of representatives of trade unions or branches of trade unions which meet within the area covered by that council, or which have members working or living in the area. A union branch will normally affiliate to the trades unions council in the area in which it meets.
Trades union councils consist of representatives of trade unions or branches of trade unions which meet within the area covered by that council, or which have members working or living in the area. A union branch will normally affiliate to the trades unions council in the area in which it meets.
Who are we and what do we do?
Trades union councils bring together trade unions to campaign around issues effecting working people in their workplaces and local communities.
Trades Union Councils consist of trade unions or branches of
Trades Union Councils consist of trade unions or branches of
trade unions which meet within the area covered by that council, or which have members working or living in the area.
A union branch will normally affiliate to the trades union council in the area in which it meets. Each branch will then send delegates to the trades union council's meetings. These branches pay an affiliation fee. Their delegates elect officers from amongst themselves to represent the views and priorities of the constituent branches and to take responsibility for working for and supporting the policy of Congress and the Trades Union Council (TUC) General Council. This is because trades union councils are registered with the TUC, rather than being entirely independent bodies. The Annual Conference of Trades Union Councils takes place over a May weekend.
Brighton Hove & District Trades Council was first formed in the function room above The Eagle pub in Gloucester Road, Brighton in 1890.
Aims and objectives
> Raise public awareness of rights at work and the union role in enforcing those rights.
> Promote organising and recruitment drives to build union membership.
> Support union and community campaigns for dignity and respect in the workplace and beyond.
With the threats of racism and fascism, changes in the labour market and debates over the future of public services, the trade union voice in the community is as important as ever.
The capacity of trades union councils to provide a local response and to organise trade unionists into coalitions with other progressive forces is crucial. They do this by providing services which keep local trade unionists up to date with developments within the wider trade union movement, and by taking up relevant local industrial and community issues.