UCU - Action Needed to Defend Higher Education

We the undersigned, endorse the following open letter to UCU TAC

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Dundee Universitys attempt to cut jobs, close courses and reduce access is the latest attempt by universities across the UK to undermine higher education and further the privatisation agenda.

As a union we cannot sit back and watch university after university make students and staff pay the price for the governments neo-liberal agenda of liberalising higher education for the benefit of private profiteers. While government funds wars it is prepared to see higher education starved of the funds it needs to provide the most basic of provision.

We call on UCU to immediately launch a nation wide, mass campaign in defence of higher education, against job losses, campus closures, and course/department privatisations.

Specifically, we want UCU to immediately start organising for the following:

1) A UK-wide demonstration to take place outside the Scottish Parliament in defence of Higher Education and against job cuts, course privatisations and closures;

2) An Emergency HE Conference (of elected branch delegates) to discuss, debate and plan a co-ordinated strategy of resistance to job losses, campus closures, and privatisation;

3) Start preparing sanctions such as Grey Listing, and ballots for industrial action against any, and all, universities that continue down the road of implementing such job losses, campus closures, and department/course privatisations.

Carlo Morelli (President Dundee UCU) pc
Paul Brown (Assistant Secretary Dundee UCU) pc


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