ucu left mag
TRANSCRIPT
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Professor Murdoe McMurdoson (University of Midwickdon)
I am writing to update you on some new initiatives we are taking in line with our Face Businesscampaign.
With regards to the new Demand and Supply Seminar Model, students have enthusiastically paid
the 5 weekly supplement to attend seminars scheduled either before or after the lecture. The
sliding scalewhich falls to 50p for those held at 9am and 7pm and any time on a Fridayhas
been keenly embraced by students from families on a lower income.
We feel this is a key step in widening participation and ensuring fair access for all, regardless
of parental income and ability to pay. In order to ensure fairness we have complied with Equal
Opportunities and are in the process of making an arrangement for loans for those unable to makecash payments with our partner, Ameribank. This will be part of an extremely appealing package
of fee repayment with market based APR.
Unfortunately, another initiative has been less well embraced by teaching staff. The Marketing
Team has worked hard to secure local business participation in our Sponsor a lecture drive,
but we have had few takers. However, we are very pleased that Dr Maingrader from the English
department has pioneered this venture in her Social Justice and Democratic Socialism in the work
of George Orwell Lecture: Brought to you by McTucky Chicken.
The jingle in the middle of the lecture apparently went down well with students, who said that it
enhanced their learning experience in their end of lecture, weekly, monthly and semester feedback
forms. We hope to see this result reected in the NSS. I will be discussing our revitalised and more
exclusive approach to NSS and job tenure in my next blog post. Keep your eye out! We hope that
going forward more staff will be prepared to embrace this entrepreneurial revenue raising initiative.
We are concerned by student feedback that many of the teaching staff are grumpy, looking
jaded, glassy eyed and in some cases walking around muttering to themselves. The Senior
Management Team are concerned that this is not conducive to the marketability of the university.
As such, we are initiating a new mandatory course Service with a Smile: Moving Forward withStudent Satisfaction. Modules will include resilience workshops, the Just say yes! Participatory
Session and Making Bureaucracy Fun. As this is compulsory for all staff, we will not be including
these hours in workload models, out of fairness to all. The courses will be held each month between
January and August, with the exception of Open Days. Car parking and childcare will be available
at the normal rates.
The nal thought of the day that I want to share with you is this: The Face Business train is pulling
out of the station at speed, and if you are not on that train, maybe youre on the wrong line!
VC Blog
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Editorial 4JaneHardy
Pensions 5
TomHickey
AGuidetotheWhitePaper 7JimWolfreys
TheUSExperienceofMarketisation 9RonMendel
SocialclassandtheWhitePaper 10RachelCohen
YoungPeopleandtheRiots 11SeanVernell
ProfessionalismandFE 13DougRouxel
TheImportanceofEqualities 14AngieMcConnell
InternationalNews 15
Whyelectionsmatter 16LizLawrence
UCULeftsCandidateforGeneralSecretary 17MarkCampbell
WhatistheUCULeft 18
EditorJane Hardy
DeputyEditorandreaGibbons
ProductionMike barton
PhotosGuysMallMan / siMon basketeer
CartoonstiM sanders
Contents
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4 YAnother Education Is PossibleYWinter 2011
Wearefacinganunprecedentedas-
sault on the public sector. Huge
reductionsinfundingandthemar-
ketisationofeducationrepresentathreat
toourjobs,workingconditionsandaca-
demicfreedom.Forfuturestudentsitrep-
resentsadramaticreductioninchoiceand
accesstoFurtherandHigherEducation.
Thisisthecontextinwhichweneedto
understandthechallengesfortheUCU.
Pensions: The Front Line
Theattackonourpensionsisatthecutting
edgeoftheassaultonthelivingstandards
of working people. Understanding the
detailsofpensions canbebamboozling,butinshorttheimposedchangesonUSS
members and the proposed changes in
theTeachersPensionScheme(TPS)mean
thatwewillhavetoworklongerandpay
moreforreducedbenets.Inthelonger
termtheveryexistenceofpublicallyfund-
edpensionschemesarethreatened.This
leaves future generations depending on
thevagariesofstockmarketstoprovide
fortheiroldage.Thebigdebateishow
canwewinthisghtafterthestrikeon
the30November.
Neoliberalism: At Home andAbroadThe White Paper on Higher Education,
Studentsattheheartofthesystem,was
unveiled byVinceCable andDavidWil-
letts inJune2011.Thesedraconianpro-
posalslaythebasisfortheprivatisationof
HigherEducation.Salivatingatthepros-
pectsofprots,privateprovidersarewait-
inginthewingsandhavelobbiedhardto
priseopenthesectorforcompetition.
TheexperienceofthesermsinAmer-
icahasbeenlittlelessthandisastrous.In
theUK, these proposals, combined with
some of the highest student fees in the
world, will bring about the closure of
coursesparticularlyinarts,humanities
andthesocialsciences.Thelimitedgains
in opening up educational opportunity
overthelasttenyearswillberolledback
sothatadegreebecomesthepreserveoftherichandprivileged.
Wearealreadyfacedwiththepseudo-
marketisationofthesectorandunderthe
guiseofprofessionalismsubjecttoabar-
rageofmeasurement,metricsandtargets.
The forthcoming Research Excellence
Frameworkhasraisedthethreshold,and
will exclude large numbers of lecturers
fromhavingtheirresearchrecognised.It
isweightedheavilyonimpactinathinly
veiledattempttomaketheproductionof
knowledgeservethecompetitiveinterests
ofindustryandharnessresearchtogov-
ernmentagendas.
Theneoliberalonslaughtoneducation
isnotconnedtotheUK.Inthisedition
wereportontwoinspirationalstruggles.
InChilemassiveprotestsandoccupationshavebeenongoingforvemonthsinvolv-
ingteachers,studentsandlecturers.The
demandisforfreeandequaleducation.
InEgyptstudentprotestsovertuitionfees,
thecostoflivingandstudying,freedomof
speechanddemocracyoncampuscontin-
uedthroughoutOctober.
The Demonisation o YoungPeopleYoungpeoplehavebeenatthesharpendoftherecessionandgovernmentattacks.
ThewithdrawalofthemodestEducation-
alMaintenanceAllowance(EMA)means
thatmanyyoungpeoplewillbediscour-
aged from staying on in education and
unabletogetthequalicationsnecessary
togettouniversity.Thereistalkofintro-
ducing fees inFurther Education,which
wouldbeanalstepinpullingawaythe
ladder of opportunity for many young
working class people. The riots in thesummerof2011demonisedyoungpeople
as being greedy and/orwere attributed
to gang culture. Now that the hysteria
hasabatedithasbecomeclearthatthese
youngpeople,nowfacingdraconianpris-
onsentences,wereunderprivilegedwith
pooreducation.Anargumentforincreas-
ingresourcesforFEnotreducingthem!
A Vision or the UCU
TheUCULeftisacoalitionofactivistswhocomefromabroadspectrumofpolitical
traditions.Wearemembers ofourlocal
committees, we are branch secretaries
andofcers,sndsomeofusaremembers
oftheNationalExecutiveCommittee.
Intheworkplacewebelieveinght-
ing for every job and against every at-
tempt to roll back hard-fought gains in
working conditionsandpractices.These
breadandbutterissuesarecritical,but
they are linked toawiderdefence and
visionof education. Vibrant, democratic
and inclusive branches arenecessary to
defendourcollegesanduniversitiesfrom
the forthcoming onslaught. Elections at
thetopareimportanttoo.Therearereal
choicesbeforeus.ThatiswhyUCULeft
isstandingcandidatesintheforthcomingGeneralSecretaryandNECelections.
Our candidate forGeneralSecretary
is Mark Campbell a lecturer at Lon-
donMetropolitanUniversityandanNEC
member. Mark knowswhat it is to be
onthefrontline.OurcandidateforVice
PresidentisAngieMcConnellalecturer
atWiganandLeighCollegeandatireless
campaignerforequality.Votingdoesmat-
terandcanmakeadifference.Notonly
because we should exercise our demo-craticrightstovoteinunionelections,but
also becausedecisions taken atnational
levelimpactontheworkofourbranches.
Another Education is Possible
The challenges thatwe face inour col-
legesanduniversitiesareimmense.These
arelikelytointensifyastherecoveryof
theglobaleconomyfaltersandaplunge
intoasecondrecessionishighlylikely.
Theattacksthatwefacearepartandparcel of a supposed solution whereby
austerity has been foisted on working
classpeopleratherthanthosewhocaused
thecrisisintherstplace.Wearelook-
ingtobuildthestrongestandmostunited
ghttodefendjobsandeducation.Butwe
alsobelievethatanothereducationispos-
sibleonewhichisfree,opentoalland
determinedbyathirstforknowledgeand
learningandnotthediktatsofthemarket.
Jane HardyUniversityofHertfordsHire
Another Education is Possible
Jane HardyEditorial
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The pensions fght: unity as the seed o victory
The German
Romantic and
utopian poet,
Hlderlin, once wrote:
Where danger is,
grows also that which
saves. The world, in
other words, never
poses a problem
without also seeding
its solution. This may
have been desperate
hope overwhelming
philosophical realism
but it is an intriguing
idea.
Forstaffinpost-16education,thatquestion
resonatestoday.Inits
attackonpublicsector
pensionshastheCoalition
Governmentbittenoff
morethanitcanchew?
Resistance and NoCompromiseThepublicsectorunions
arenallytomountacollectivedefenceof
pensions.TheTUCis
beingforcedtofrontthat
resistance.Desperateto
discoversomenegotiated
compromise,theTUCis
relentlesslypursuingthe
PrimeMinister,orother
Governmentministers,or
anyonewhowilltalkto
itsrepresentativesaboutacompromise.
Bycontrast,our
needasteachersand
researchersandacademic-
relatedstaff(members
andpotentialmembers
ofthefunds)istowin
thisbattle;itisnotto
compromise.Wecannot
affordacompromiseon
thisquestion.Weneedtoensurethatthediscussion
aboutwhatisnecessary
towintakesplacenow.
Weneedtoreectonthe
escalationofactionafter
30thNovember.
Pensions and PublicEducationTheGovernmentsintent
isnotonlytodrivedown
thecostofeducation
butalsotoundermine
publicserviceandpublic
provision,toout-source
asmuchofpublic
provisionaspossible,and/ortodisposeofparts
oftheeducationsector.
Cheapeningtheemployers
pensioncontributionsis
partofthatstrategy.
TheGovernment,and
ouremployersincolleges
anduniversities,havea
strategicvision,anddo
nothesitatetogeneralise
outfromspecicstruggles
tothewiderpicture.Unlesswewanttoght
forheroicdefeats,we
mustunderstandwhatis
atstakestrategically,and
bewillingtoghtwithan
equallygeneralisedvision.
The TPS AND USSSchemesThereisnonancial
requirementforthese
changes.TheTeachers
PensionSchemeandthe
UniversitySuperannuation
Schemearenot
underfundedschemes.
Theseproposedchanges
arenotaboutnancial
viabilitybutonlyabout
shiftingtheburdenof
pensionsfromemployers
toemployeesIntheUSSscheme,in
thepre-92universities,
theemployerswantto
calculatepensionsby
averagingoutsalaries
overawholecareer,rather
thanthecurrentnal
yearsalaryscheme.Staff
joiningthenewscheme,
andretiringatthetopof
thelecturersscale,could
lose100,000compared
tocurrentarrangements.
Theemployershave
shiftedtheinationlink
fromtheRetailPriceIndex
(RPI)totheConsumer
PriceIndex(CPI),wiping2bnoffthepensionfund.
InthecaseofUSS,they
havealreadycappedthe
ratethatpensionsincrease
tomatchinationat5%
-giventhatinationis
alreadyabove5%,this
movewillsignicantly
reducethevalueof
pensions.
Theyaretryingtobuyoffexistingstaff
byapplyingthenew
arrangementstonew
entrantsintherst
instance.Atonepoint
duringnegotiations,
however,theemployers
revealedthatoncethe
newschemeisintroduced,
theywouldliketomove
everyoneontotheinferior
pensionscheme.
Unaordable
IntheTPS,theswitch
fromRPItoCPIinApril
2011wasthetriggerfor
thedecisiontoballotfor
industrialaction.The
consequenceofthisswitch
isadramaticreductionin
pensions.Extrapolatingandaveragingfrompast
differencesbetweenthe
twoindexesgivesthe
followingovertheaverage
lengthofretirement:
YforanFElecturerwith
a10kpapension,a
36,000lossover25
years;
YforanHElecturerwith
an18kpapension,
65,000lossover25
years.
Tocompoundmatters,the
Governmentannounced
initsComprehensive
SpendingReviewin
Octoberlastyearthattherewouldbeincreased
employeecontributionsto
publicsectorpensionof50
percent-from6percent
to9percentofsalaries.
Theeffectofthiswould
bedramaticontake-home
payasaresultofincreased
pensionscontributions:
Yatop-of-the-scaleFE
lecturerwillpayanadditional84per
month;
Yatop-of-the-scaleHE
lecturerwillpayan
additional104per
month.
Thechangesalsoinvolve
anincreaseintheage
ofretirementto68for
youngermembersofthe
schemes.
Pay, Pensions andContractsForthenotionalHE
lecturer,describedabove,
thejointeffectofthese
proposalsconstitutes
theactuarialequivalent
ofa3,848reduction
inannualsalary,i.e.a
reductionof320permonth.Thisisontopof
Tom HickeyPensions
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6 YAnother Education Is PossibleYWinter 2011
thecutinrealtake-home
payfromthesub-ination
settlementsofthelast
fewyears(itselfacutin
realpayofinexcessof10
percent).
Thisisnotonlya
retrospectiveimposition
ofaunilateraldecisiontoworsenourcontractual
terms.Itwillcausereal
hardshiptomany,and
willraisethespectre
offoreclosurebytheir
mortgagecompanies.
Alongwiththatnancial
stresswillcomethereal
worrythatlecturerand
otherworkersintheHE
andFEsectorswillnotbeabletosendtheirown
childrentouniversity.
Government Strategy
Isthissimplyaboutthe
short-termexpediencyof
reducingthedecit?
Theansweris,not
atall.Referencestothe
Governmentdecitare
asmokescreen.Raisingthestatepensionage
graduallyto70(the
unstatedintention)will
reduceGovernment
spendinginthelongrun.
Thatis,however,notwhat
itismostcentrallyabout.
Theaimisrather
tobreakasystemin
whichthepensionsof
thegenerationofretired
peoplearepaidforby
thecontributionsofthose
currentlyworking.Theaim
istodestroyatraditionof
intergenerationalsolidarity
andsocialresponsibility.
Itistotryto
individualiseresponsibility
forretirement.Theaim
istodrivemillionsout
ofdenedbenet(e.g.
nalsalary)intodenedcontributionschemes
whereemployeespay
intoascheme,thebanks
thengamblewiththe
fundsonthestockmarket,
andthepensionersthen
nallysharebetween
themwhateverisleftonce
thebankersandbrokers
havetakentheircutforprofessionalservices.
Commercialisationand ProftabilityThedrive,inotherwords,
istocommercialisethe
provisionofpensions.
Bythismechanism,the
Governmentcreates
substantialprotsfor
thenancialsector;itunderminessocial
solidarity;anditreducesemployerscontributions
from12-15percentof
salaryto3-6percent.
Inthetermsofpolitical
economy,thiswouldbea
sharpshiftofwealthand
incomefromemployeesto
theownersofcapital.
From Resistance to
VictoryIn1998,whentheSpanish
Governmenttriedto
cutpensionsthemove
provokedaGeneralStrike,
andtheGovernment
backeddown.Whenthe
SocialistPartyGovernment
inFranceattackedpublic
sectorpensionsin1995,
andtriedtoremovetrade
unionoversightoftheschemes,itprovokeda
waveofpublicsector
strikesthatparalysed
thecountry,andledto
theabandonmentofthe
Governmentsreforms.
WhenBerlusconis
GovernmentinItalytried
toseverthelinkbetween
pensionsandaverageearnings,itwasdefeated
byastrikewaveandthe
biggestdemonstrations
forgenerations.Inthe
faceofthisresistance,and
learningthelessonofit,
theGermanGovernment
abandoneditsplansfor
pensionreform.Thelesson
wasclear.
Thecentralquestion,therefore,isnothowdo
wegetthebiggestturn-out
on30November?
Thequestionthat
mustbeasked,and
askednow,is,What
happensafter30
November?
Giventhe
Governmentslong-
termproject,itwill
notbedeterredfromitsstrategybyasingleone-
daystrike.Itwillwatch
theturnoutcarefully,and
itwillattempttojudgethe
mood.Itshopewillbethat
thepublicsectorunions
willseethe30thasthe
culminationofthestruggle
notitsstart.Itwillsitout
the30th,andwaittosee
whathappensthereafter.
Escalation ater 30NovemberForourside,thequestion
isequallystark.What
arewepreparedtodoto
defendoutpensions?For
howlongwouldwehave
tostriketomakethecost
oflostpayoutweighthe
benetsofdefeatingtheGovernmentsproposals?
Atanestimatedcosttous
ofover3,500forevery
workingyear,howmany
strikedaysdoesthat
represent?
Willwereturntowork
feelingthatourprotest
hasbeenregistered,
andallownormalitytoreimposeitself?Orwill
weimmediatelybeginto
organisetheescalation
ofstrikeactionthatwill
benecessarytosecure
victory?Willwestartto
raisetheslogan,AllOut
andStayOut!inevery
schoolandcollegeand
university,andbuild
towardsatwo-daypublicsectorstrikeinthespring?
Education andPensionsMostcrucially,in
education,willwelink
thisstruggletotheght
todefendeducationand
toghtagainststudent
debt?Orwillwepresent
ourselvesasifweareonlyconcernedwithour
sectionalinterestsas
employees?
Weneedaunited
ghtwiththeother
publicsectorunions
overpensions.As
educationalists,however,
wealsoneedaunitedght
withourstudents,withthe
NUS,withfuturestudents,
andwiththecommunityto
defendaccesstopublicly
fundedpost-16education.
Paradoxically,the
Governmenthasitself
createdthefoundations
forthatunityinopposition
toitspolicies.Perhaps
Hlderlinwasnotso
unreasonableinhishope.
toM Hickey
neCandUniversityofBrigHton
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8 YAnother Education Is PossibleYWinter 2011
higherinA-levelsorAVCEs(Advancedvo-
cationalcerticateofeducation)inEng-
land were fromprivate schools. Private
schoolpupilsrepresentonly6percentof
allschoolstudents.Afurther10percent
ofthoseachievingAABwenttoselective
stateschools.
Ten elite institutions already recruit
around 40 percent of AAB+ students,
theirshareislikelytoincreaseunderthe
new system. These universities mostly
belong to the Russell group of institu-
tions,only20percentofwhosestudents
received fullmeans-tested bursaries(for
students from households earning less
than25k) in2010-11.This ishalf the
rateforpost-92universities.AtOxbridge
thegurewasbelow15percent.Meanwhile,20,000 students without
AAB+gradesaretoberemovedfromthe
quota.Manyoftheinstitutionsthatcur-
rentlycaterforpoorerstudentsstandto
loseoutunderthenewregime,meaning
thattheywillhavefewerresourcestopro-
videfortheireducation.
For-proft
Howdoesthegovernmentintendtofacili-
tate theentry ofprivate companies intohighereducation?
YHigherEducationFundingCouncil for
England(HEFCE)toberemodelledasa
consumerchampionandleadregula-
torforsectorwithadutytotakecom-
petitionimplicationsintoaccountwhen
makingdecisionsonfunding
YHEFCE to monitor providers, address
signsoffailureandagreerecoveryar-
rangements
Y Highperforming institutions toben-etfromlight-touchregulation
YNumber controls on admissions to be
freedup
YQualityassurancetobedowngradedto
risk-basedregulation
YProcessandcriteriaforgrantingdegree-
awarding powers, university and uni-
versitycollegetitletobereviewedfor
newproviders
The inspiration from this model comes
fromtheUSasweshallseeinRonMen-dels article. In order to offer for-prot
providersaccesstothestudentloanmar-
ket, the government will dispense with
theneedforprovidersseekinguniversity
statustoprovethequalityofitsprovision
overtime.
Degree-awardingpowersarecurrent-
ly renewableevery sixyears.Risk-based
quality assurance will ensure that qual-
itycontrolisonlylikelytocomeintoplay
oncesomethinggoeswrong.
Management attacks
The White Paper will reinforce and in-
tensify university managements attacks
on staff and students. According to one
vice-chancellor, survivalwith fees below
7,500would involveredundancies andworsening student-to-staff ratios: The
onlywayyoucancut[feesto]thatlevel
isbydramaticallyreducingstafng(Mar-
tinHall,TimesHigherEducation,7July
2011).
Conditionswill bemade evenworse
bytheentryintothesectorofprivatepro-
viderswithanevenmorebullishattitude
to driving down costs. The government
wantstobreakuptheexistinguniversity
system, driving some universities to the
wall,makinganelitefewthepreserveofthemostprivilegedandallowingprivate
providerstoscavengethesectorinorder
toturnpublicmoneyintoprivateprot.
Deending our universities
The White Paper has already brought
together a remarkable variety of voices
preparedtodefendouruniversities,from
theCampaignfor thePublicUniversitys
co-ordinationoftheAlternativeWhitePa-
perindefenceofpublichighereducation
totheOxfordacademicswhoinitiateda
motionofNoCondenceinWilletts,lat-
ertakenupbyUCUandnowsignedby
around20,000people.
UCUhasamajorroletoplayinthis
situation. Its organising capacities can
helpcreateabroadandpowerfulnational
campaignagainst theWhitePaperwhen
it goes before parliament in 2012. The
governments political objectives for the
universitysector,aswehaveseen,repre-sentageneralassaultonthequalityofour
educationwhichwillmakelifeworsefor
studentsandforstaffandrobsocietyofa
preciousresource.
Thisassaulthasalreadybeguninthe
formofanindustrialoffensivebyuniver-
sitymanagers,astheyimplementthecost
cuttingmeasureswhichthisWhitePaper
explicitly urges them to adopt, driving
downpensionsandpayandmakingstaff
redundant.
Thesearethespecicmeansbywhich
thefutureofhighereducationisbeingput
at risk. UCUmustndaway tomount
signicant, sustained resistance to this
generalisedonslaughtonouruniversities,
unitingstaffwithstudentsandthewider
community.Ifresoluteindustrialactionin
defenceofouruniversitiesisnotorgan-isedinthefaceofthesethreats,manywill
askwhatisthepurposeoftradeunions?
Thisassaultonhighereducationcan
be defeated. It will require careful and
detailedargument andthedevelopment
ofanationalcampaignofaction.Thisis
likelytorequirethesystematic,campus-
by-campusorganisationofmassdeance,
ledbyUCUandtheNUS,unitingstaffand
students alike in teach-ins, occupations,
demonstrations,strikeactionand,ifnec-essary,anindeniteshutdownoftheen-
tireuniversitysystem.
JiM Wolfreys
Kings Collegelondon
references
ThisisanabridgedversionofUniversitiesfor
Hire:thehighereducationWhitePaperandthe
marketisationofacademia,anEducationActiv-
istNetworkbriengbyJimWolfreys,available
BIS,HigherEducation,Studentsatthe
HeartoftheSystem,June2011,http://
discuss.bis.gov.uk/hereform/white-paper/
CampaignforthePublicUniversity,InDefenceof
PublicHigherEducation,http://publicuniver-
sity.org.uk/2011/09/27/higher-education-white-
paper-is-provoking-a-winter-of-discontent/
Hotson,Howard,ShortCuts,London
ReviewofBooks,2June2011
million+group,UniversitiesDrivingSocial
Mobility:BeyondtheOxbridgeObsession,
September2011,http://www.millionplus.
ac.uk/research/universities-driving-social-
mobility-beyond-the-oxbridge-obsession
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For-proft universities in the United States Coming to a town near you
Continued on page 10
ronmendelThe US Experience o Marketisation
The Coalition government has issued
aHigherEducationWhitePaperthat
willallowfortheentryofprivatefor-
prot providers of higher education in
England.1 David Willets, the University
and ScienceMinister, hasmetwith rep-
resentativesfromBPP,Pearsons,Warburg
Pincusandother privaterms to signal
hisintentiontoopenthepublicuniversity
systemtocompetition.Sincethegovern-
menthasbeeninspiredbythegrowthof
forprotuniversitiesintheUnitedStates,
itwouldbeinstructivetoassesswhatthe
American experience tells us about the
risks and hazards associated with for-
prothighereducation.
For-protuniversitiesaimtomaximiseincome.Thefor-protscanbeownedby
anindividual,acorporationorberunas
apubliclimitedcompanywithstockhold-
ers.(Kinser,2009:4)Since1998thefor-
protHEsectorintheUShasgrownfrom
about600,000toapproximately1.8mil-
lionstudents.Thefourteenpubliclimited
companies, among the largest for-prot
providers, claim 1.4 million students.
(U.S.Senate:2)Encouragedbytherepeal
of the restriction that universities could
offer no more than50 percent of theircurriculumon line, thebetter resourced
for-prots have expanded exponentially,
gobblinguptheirsmallercounterparts.
Public subsidies or or-proftuniversitiesUnderpinningthegrowthofthefor-prots
ispublicnancialsupporttostudents.Pell
grants and federal loans issued to stu-
dentsconstituteagrowingpercentageof
thefor-prots income.Forexample, thevelargestfor-protsderive77percentof
theirincomefromgrantsandloans.Inad-
dition, for-prots claim a disproportion-
ateshareoftheincreasedexpenditureson
grantsandloans,risingfrom13percent
in1999to25percentin2009.(U.S.Sen-
ate:3)
The importance of these public sub-
sidies cannot be underestimated as the
shareofPellgrantsandfederalloansgo-
ingtoforprotsrosetoalmost$25billion
in2008-9,doublethesharetheyhadten
years earlier. Although for-prots enrol
about10percentofhighereducationstu-
dentstheyreceive23percentofthefeder-
algrantandloanfunds.(U.S.Senate:3)
Recruit at any costNotsurprisinglysincetuitionfeesconsti-
tuteahigherproportionoftheirincome,
for-protshavetheincentivetoenrolas
manystudentsaspossible.Thishasledto
arecruitatanycostapproachwhereby
aggressive marketing practices are de-
ployed.Outreachincludestelevisionand
billboard advertisements, telephone so-
licitationandwebmarketing.Onestudy
commissionedbytheUnitedStatesSen-
ateshowedthateightpubliclytradedHEprovidersdevotedover30percentoftheir
costs tomarketing and recruitmentand
only50percenttoeducation.(U.S.Sen-
ate: 5) In theprocessstudentrecruiters
were compensatedwith bonuses if they
exceededtheirrecruitmenttargets,lead-
ing to many instances where students
havebeenrecruitedwhodidnothavethe
appropriate educational requirements to
pursueaHEdegree.
For-profts ail to deliver
Noassessmentofthefor-protuniversities
would be complete without addressing
their ownself-serving claims.Advocates
andprovidersalikeassertthatfor-prots
offerefcientlydeliveredcourse,enhance
the student experience, foster employ-
abilityand ingeneral provide value for
money.
Onallcountstheseclaimscannotbe
substantiated. Tuition fees at for protsexceedthoseatpublicuniversities(double
thatoffouryearuniversitiesandsixtimes
that of two year community colleges),
although theyonly about spendhalf of
theirincomedirectlyoneducationalser-
vices.(Kinser, 2009:13) AUnitedStates
SenateCommitteefoundthatstudentre-
tentionandprogressionwashighlyprob-
lematic,asover540,000studentsoutof
590,000inonesamplefailedtocomplete
theiryearofstudy.Althoughthedatafor
graduateemployment isnotentirely re-
liable, there is considerable evidence to
suggest that graduatesarelanding posi-
tionswhich they had not trained for. If
poorretentionratesandsuspectratesof
graduate employment are not enough,
mountinglevelsofstudentdebtaddsalttothewounds.Approximately21percent
offor-protsstudentswhoactuallygrad-
uated defaulted on their federal loans,
whichunderthelawwillnotbesimplybe
writtenoff.(U.S:8)Insteadstudentsface
nancialpenaltiesandmountinginterest
paymentswhichhoundthemfortherest
oftheirlives.
Dodgy business practices
The track record of for-prots has at-tractedadditionalattentionfromtheUS
governmentinrecentyears.Someofthe
companieswho have been trying toget
a foothold inEngland havebeen found
guilty of business malpractice. Kaplan
HigherEducationwas chargedwith de-
frauding the government of millions of
dollars and unethical student admission
procedures. Career Education Corpora-
tion faced allegations of fraudulent re-
cruitmentpracticesadmittingstudentswhodidnotfullthesufcientenrolment
criteriaandencouragingstafftosignup
relativeswhoneverattended.(University
and College Union: 4-5;Marcus, 2011)
Apollo, the parent company of Phoenix
Universitysventuresandtherecentbuyer
of BPP Professional Education (already
granteddegreeawardingpowersinEng-
land),standsaccusedofenrollingunqual-
ied students and massaging students
gradestokeepthemontheirbooks.Not
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8/3/2019 UCU Left Mag
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10 YAnother Education Is PossibleYWinter 2011
The White Paper is a blueprint for a transfer of resources
from poor and middle class, state-educated students to a
minority of privately educated students.
TheWhite Paper is formallymeritocratic, funnelling resources tohigh-
achieving students on the basis of A-Level achievement. But A-Levelachievementishighlydependentonwealth.
Privately educated students do much better in A-Levels.In2011
20.9percentofComprehensive,13.3percentofSecondaryModernand
39.8percentofGrammarschoolA-LevelexamentriesweremarkedatAor
A*,whileoverhalfofprivateschoolentriesreceivedanAorA*.Whereas
Grammarschooladmissionisselective,partiallyexplainingtheirsuccess,
privateschooladmissionisnot.Andinrealitytheclass-divideiswider,
sinceprivatelyeducatedstudentsaremorelikelythanComprehensivestu-
dentstoevenbeenteredforA-Levels.
A-levels are a class-biased predictor of ability. Itcouldbethataf-
terdoingbetterinA-LevelsprivatelyeducatedstudentsgoonanddobetteratUniversity.Thisis,however,notso.TheSuttonTrustrecentlyfoundthat,
acomprehensivestudentwithgradesBBBislikelytoperformaswellat
universityasanindependentorgrammarschoolstudentwithgradesABB
orAAB(2010:28).Similarlyin2003HEFCEfoundthatstateschoolstu-
dentswithgradesABBperformedaswellasprivateschoolstudentswith
gradesAAA.ThusA-Levelsexaggerateprivatelyeducatedstudentsabili-
ties,whileunderestimatingthoseofstate-educatedstudents.Anyfunding
basedonA-Levelswilldolikewise.
ThethreenewmarketsthattheWhitePaperestablishes,representdiffer-
entmodelsofstatesupport,orlackthereof,tailoredatclass-differentiated
studentbodiesandprovidingvaryinglevelsofstudentchoiceorconstraint.
1. Potentially unlimited places at their chosen University for
students gaining AAB or better at A-Level (at present 65,000
students). Privilegedprivatelyeducated students,who already ac-
countfor30percentofAABstudents,willmonopoliseplacesprovided
bythismarket,withaccesstoafullrangeofdegreeprograms,from
ArtHistorythroughSociology,Medicine,MathematicsandBiological
Sciences.
2. 20,000 places on any course at any institution, including
private institutions, charging under 7,500. Disadvantaged
students, seeking to avoid excessive indebtedness will be clusteredinunderfundedteaching-only institutions. As graduallymore stock-
marketlistedcompaniescompeteinthismarket(togainaccesstothe
statefundedstudentloansonoffer)thesestudents,manywithlittle
knowledgeofHE,willndthemselvesfacedbyaggressivesalespeople
pushingpotentiallyunsuitableprogrammesofstudy.
3. Unlimited places for any student receiving private sponsor-
ship. Withbusinesssponsorshipemergingasanalternativerouteinto
highereducation,somestudents,missingoutonAAB+,will choose
tomakeadealwiththedevil:gainingaccesstoagoodeducation,in
returnforpursuingabusiness-friendlyprogrammeofstudy.
racHel coHen
UniversityofsUrrey
Tipping the balance away rom state-educated students
Social class and the White Paper
surprisingly, then, that in2008 thegraduation
rateat Phoenix University was only9 percent
(Marcus,2009)
The neo-liberal world oor-proftsAlthoughelevenoftheftyUSstateshavebeen
conducting investigations into the business
practices of for-prots, the private institutions
operatein anunregulatedmarket. Teamingup
withsympatheticRepublicanCongressmen,the
AssociationofPrivateSectorCollegesandUni-
versities (APSCU) successfully pressured the
federal government to dilute the requirement
thatfor-protuniversitiesdemonstratestudentshadsecuredgainfulemploymentaftergraduat-
ing(Marcus,2011).Inessence,despitetheuse
ofpublicmoneyintheformofgrantsandloans
tonancestudentenrolment, theperformance
of for-protuniversities is not subject to close
government scrutiny. Consequently, the quality
of education is compromised and the student
experiencesuffers.AsApollo,Kaplanandother
US-based for-prot enterprises eye theEnglish
highereducationmarket,letstudents,lecturers
andthegeneralpublicbeawareofthedangers
theyposetoouruniversitysystem.ron Mendel
UniversityofnortHampton
references
Kinser,Kevin,2009,AccessinUSHigherEduca-
tion:WhatDoestheFor-ProtSectorContribute?PROPHEWorkingPaper,Number14March.
Marcus,Jon,2009,HopesareHighthatthePresidentissingingtheirsong,Times
HigherEducation,26November.Marcus,JonOffenceistheBestDefence,
TimesHigherEducation16June.
Morgan,John,2011,Universitiescouldbeinprivatehandsinsixmonths,Times
HigherEducation,13October.UniversityandCollegeUnion,SubprimeEduca-
tion?:AReportontheGrowthofPrivatePro-vidersandtheCrisisofUKHigherEducation
1HigherEducationinWales,Scotlandand
NorthernIrelandaresubjecttoregulationslegislatedbyregionalassemblieswhichinmany
casesdifferfromthoseineffectandabouttocomeonstreaminEngland.However,given
budgetarysqueezesbeingexperiencedthroughout
theUK,thechangesbeingproposedforHEinEnglandmightbeadoptedelsewhere.
Continued from page 9
racHel coHen
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Pulling Away the Ladder
ThegreatblackAmericanpoetLangstonHughesina
poemwritteninthe1930sunderstoodonlytoowell
whathappenswhenexpectationsarentmet:
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry upLike a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?Or crust and sugar over like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sagslike a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
IthinktheriotsofAugust2011have,onceagain,
answeredthatquestion.
Ittookariotthiswastheheadingtoabrieng
paperthatMichaelHeseltinewrotefortheTorycabinet
intheaftermathofthe1981riots.Onceagainweare
inthesamesituationasthatofover30yearsago.But
perhapswithgreaterintensityandsignicance.
Iwroteapamphletinthesummerof2009asan
attempttochallengethepervadingorthodoxiesabout
youngpeople.IdidsobecauseIwassickandtiredofthe
continualtabloidattacksonyoungpeopleasferaland
criminal.Ialsobelievedthatyoungpeoplewouldbeat
theforefrontofshapingtheirownandthereforetherest
ofsocietysdestiny.
10 November demonstration
Sincethentheyoungworkingclasshavetakentothe
streetsintheirtensofthousands.Firstwesaw50,000
studentsandlecturersdemonstrateon10November
2010,overtheraisingoftuitionfeesandthescrapping
ofEMA,whichturnedintoamassrevoltoftheyoungin
defenceoftheirfutures.BaramildreformofEMAthismovementfailedtostoptheseattacks.However,what
itrevealedwasthattheyoungwerenotapatheticor
apoliticalandthattheywerenotgoingtositbackand
allowtheToryledgovernmenttopushthemdeeperinto
poverty.
Whenanynewgenerationghtsbackfortherst
time,theydonotdosointheoldfamiliarwaysofpast
generations.Theybringwiththemnewandfreshways.
Itisalsothecasethatthewaythattheyexpresstheir
rageandtowhomtheydirectitmightnotfollowthe
sean VernellYoung People and the Riots
Picture:SimonBasketeer
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12 YAnother Education Is PossibleYWinter 2011
usualorderedwaythattraditionaltradeunionstruggle
oftendoes.
The August riots
TheriotingthattookplaceoverfourdaysinAugust
2011,sparkedbythemurderbypoliceofMarkDuggan
inTottenham,thefourthtobekilledbythepolicesince
March,wasareectionofthesamesenseofangerand
frustration.Itshoneaverypowerfullightonthechasm
betweentheyoungworkingclassandthosewhorunour
society.Thescaleoftherevoltshooktheestablishment
fromtoptobottom.
Ofcoursethepoliticiansandmediamademuch
ofthefactthatitwastheirowncommunitiesthatthe
youngtrashed.Butmakenomistakethecausesofthese
riotssharethesamesubsoilthatgavebirthtothehalf
millionstrongtradeuniondemonstrationonthe26
March2011.
Thegovernmentresponsewaspredictable-more
repression.Thegovernmenthaveseizedontheriotsasanopportunitytointroduceevenmoredraconianpolice
powersanddivisionstopushthroughtheirausterity
programme.Theyarrestedover300studentsfollowing
thefeesandEMAprotestsandover5,000followingthe
riots.Thestudentsarrestedwereyoungandworking
class,anddisproportionatelyblack.Thisbrutalattempt
tocrushtherevoltthroughmassarrest,imprisonment
andfearwillonlyservetodeepenthehatredand
resentmentofthoseinauthoritybylargeswathesof
workingclassyouth.
Thegovernmentandtherightwingmediahavealsolaunchedanideologicaloffensive,raisingalltheold
clichsaboutthecriminalclasses,parentaldiscipline,
greedandlackofvalues(andoftenasnotthelack
ofBritishvalues).MichaelGove,educationminister,
askedthequestion,
Why has a culture of greed and instant gratication,
rootless hedonism and amoral violence taken hold in
parts of society?
Thebreathtakinghypocrisyandstupidityofsucha
questionbeggarsbelief.Youngpeopleareshaped,aswe
allare,bytheworldinwhichwelive;greedybankers
whowreckeconomiesandthengetwealthier,politicians
onthetakewhodontgetarrested,policeofcerswho
beatandmurder,butrarely,ifever,getbroughtto
justice.
Weliveinasocietywherewearetoldthatbeingrich
andfamousisthepathtohappinessandfullment.The
survivalofthettest,getrichquick,dogeatdogmorals
thataredrummedintoouryoung,dayindayout,are
theonesthatwearesupposedtoliveby.
Theyseethewealthyaunttheirrichesensuring
theirownchildrenaresecureandhappy,whilstknowingthattheywillneverhavethisforthemselvesortheir
families,nomatterhowlongtheyworkorhowhard
theystudy.Arethepoliticiansandthosewhowriteabout
theyoungandtheirbehavioursooutoftouchwith
workingclasslifethattheyreallydontunderstandwhat
createdsuchareactiontoanotherkillingofablackman
onourstreets?
ForsomeImsuretheriotsdidcomeasashock,like
athunderboltthroughtheclearbluesky.Theyareout
oftouch.However,Indithardtobelievethatmanyofthosethatrunsocietywerethatsurprised.Eventheir
ownpublicationswarnedaboutthedangersofmass
unemployment.Young,joblessandlookingfortrouble
wastheheadingofanarticleintheEconomistwritten
on3February2011.Itwentontosay,
We are rightly xated on the politics of what is going
on in Egypt at the moment. But it is worth sparing a
thought for the economics, too. If Russians in 1917
wanted bread, peace and landyoung Egyptians want
jobs. Egypts youth unemployment rate is currently
about 25 percent. That is clearly a depressing number,but even more depressing is that it is not out of line
with rates across the region and beyond. Lebanons
youth-unemployment rate is 21 percent, Tunisias is 30
percent, Britain is 20 percent and Spain 40 percent
Policymakers would be well advised to think about how
were going to promote job intensive growth.
90 million unemployed young people
TheInternationalLabourOrganisationestimatesthat
90million15-24yearoldsareunemployed.Thisisthehighestguresincerecordsbegan.
Itisclearthattherewereplentyofwarningsbutthe
governmentrefusedtodoanythingaboutthem.Their
fakeconcernandcrocodiletearsforourcommunities
intheaftermathoftheriotswasjustasmokescreento
allowthemtocontinuetodrivethroughtheirausterity
policies.
Itisalsoclearthatcapitalismcannotdeliverabetter
lifefortheyoung.Theirdreamsandaspirationswill
notandcannotbemet.Allitcandoisattempttolower
expectationsbycallingontheyoungtoberealistic,
acceptdeadendjobsonpovertypay.Forgetaboutgoing
touniversity.Atbestsomewillbeabletogetoncourses
thatteachskillsfornon-existentjobs.
Governmentsattemptstovilifyanddemonisethe
youngworkingclassreecttheirfearofthem.Theyare
righttobefearful.Itistheirenergy,dynamismand
senseofinjusticethatwillbeabletounleashtheforces
thatcanbringaboutanewsocietythatdoesnotwaste
thecreativecapacityoftheyoung.
sean Vernell
neCand Cityand islingtonCollege
aUtHorofdontgetyoUngintHetHird millenniUm -CapitalismandtHedemonisingoftHeyoUng WorKing Class
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The Institute or Learning and the (De)proessionalism o FE Lecturers
TheideaofprofessionalismintheFEandAdultEduca-
tionsectorhashadahardtimeofitlately.Theongo-
ingselfdestructionoftheInstituteforLearning(IfL)
followingyearsofenforcedandbureaucratically-imposed
professionalismhasdonesignicantdamageto theno-
tionofprofessionalismwithinthesector,andthereisa
dangerofpractitionersgettingswitchedoffitaltogether.
TheIfListheprofessionalbodyforFurtherEduca-
tionandAdultEducation;teachersandlecturersinFEare
obligedbylawtobecomemembersofthebody.Following
theimpositionofafeetobecomeamember,FEmembers
ofUCU voted overwhelmingly toboycott theorganisa-
tion.ThisactionhasinitiatedareviewoftheIfLandpro-
fessionalismwithinthesector.
Professionalismis,however,animportantpartofthe
workwedoasatradeunion.Itsaunifyingbannerunder
whichanumberofseeminglydifferentareasofourworkcanbebroughttogethertoexpressasingularvisionfor
thewayinwhichFEandAdultEducationpractitioners
willbetreated.Itisthewayinwhichweconsiderour
educationalpracticeandthewaythatthisinterfaceswith
thewiderworld.
TheimpositionofpayingtojointheIfLwasacatalyst
forwidespreadangertowardstheIfLandthisactedasa
focalpointformanyofthethingswhichareproblematic
aboutthewaythesectorworks.Thisanger,alongwith
decisivecollectiveactionthroughtheboycottgivesusan
opportunitytopushforabetterprofessionalism.
Targets
SuccessivegovernmentshaveputforwardavisionofFE
andAdultEducation,avisionofmetrics,statistics,data
collection, target setting and key performance indica-
tors,allregulatedbyleaguetables,conferredstatusand
pre-ordainedgenericcompetencies.Thisvisionofprofes-
sionalismisanintrinsicpartoftheneo-liberalisationof
education;itispartofanimposedpseudo-marketisation
ofthesector.
Teachers and lecturers have become judged on the
datatheyproduce.Statisticsanddataanalysishavebe-
comethemostimportantaspectoftheirworkandasthe
achievementofthetargetsbecomesallimportant,their
focusbecomesmore andmoredistant from the actual
activity (education) that the numbers are supposed to
represent.Thenatureofthequasi-marketsystemwhich
hasbeencreatedinFEthusbecomesapparent,andour
professionalidentityastargetsettersandachievers
becomesthesingularviewofusintheeyesofthegovern-
mentandouremployers.
Inthecontextofallofthisdataentryandtargetset-ting,IfLhashewnapathwhichplacestheFEandAdult
Educationprofessionalinapositionwhichskirtstheedg-
esofthedataandmetricsbasedmodelhandeddownby
thegovernment.TheIfLsmodelofreectivepracticeis
slightlyseparatedfromthegovernmentsstatistics-based
model.Itdoesntlooktoreplaceit,ratheritaddsonthe
notionofsharingdevelopmentwithotherpractitioners,
aswellasconsideringtheeffectofdevelopmentonyour
educationpractice, combining thebureaucracy of data
collectionwithsuperuousformlling.
Clearlyreectiononteachingandthesharingofgood
practiceissomethingwhichcanbebenecial,andhavea
positiveimpactonstudents.However,theprescribedIfL
wayofdoingitdivertsattentionfromthisbeingaposi-
tiveandcollectiveprocess,ownedbythepractitionersat
a local level. Instead itendsupasan abstract, distant
processwithpredeterminedheadingsunderwhicheve-
rythingmustsit.TheinherentpassivityoftheIfLsvisionisnotaplat-
formforchangeandthisiswhyweneedamoreforce-
ful,uniedandultimatelyactivevisionofprofessionalism
foroursector,weneedavisionofprofessionalismwhich
genuinelyrepresentstheaspirationswehaveforthework
wedo,andmoreimportantlythestudentsweteach.
FurtherandAdultEducation isnot, and shouldnot
beseenasmerelyaplacetoacquireskills.Itsnotsome-
thingthatstudentsundertakesolelyastherststeponto
aconveyorbeltintoajob(thatisiftheycangetintowork
atall).Educationismorethanthis,FurtherandAdultEd-ucationismorethanthis,andourprofessionalismshould
bemore than this.Our sector and our professionalism
needtobetransformative.
Wearenotheretoindoctrinatethenextgenerationof
workforcedrones,weasteachersshouldbecontributing
tosocialchangeandbepreparingourstudentstocontrib-
utetochangeinsociety.
Inorder toshape the forthcoming reviewofthe IfL
and thenatureofFEprofessionalism,weneedtopush
for:
YThereturnoftrusttothesectorpartof
professionalismisbeingtreatedasthoughweare
professionals,notblindlypushedtomeettargets
whichsimplydontrelatetotheeducationalcontextof
ourstudents.
YAguaranteeofgenuinelydevelopmentalCPD
somethingdirectedbytheteacherandnotsheepdip
stafftrainingimposedbytheemployerwhichdoesnot
benetstudents.
YGenuinedemocraticcontrolofallofourrepresentative
bodies,aspartofademocratisationofthesectorasa
whole,forthebenetofstudents.
douG rouxel
neCand soUtHessexCollege
doug rouxelProessionalism and FE
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Why Equality is a Trade Union issue
SpeakingbeforethisyearsannualTUCmeeting,and
inreplytoaquestionaboutwhethertradeunionism
providesdenitiveanswerstoadeepeningnancial
crisisBrendanBarbersaidTradeunionshaveaswordof
justiceeffect,notjustinworkplacesbutintheeconomy
asawhole.Theyareaforceforgreaterequality.Wecan
starttiltingthebalancebacktowardsafairersociety.
Tradeunionismisacrucialanswertopartofthat
question.
Andheisright;thetradeunionmovementisaforce
forgreaterequalityandtostarttiltingthebalance.
Hewastalkingaboutunionsbeingaforcetoimprove
wages,safetyandtrainingbutletsconsiderEquality
withacapitalEandinthesingular.Thecommonusage
ofequalitiesisdubiousandshouldbequestioned.Even
theGovernmenthasanEqualitiesofce,showingtheir
lackofunderstandingoftheissue.ThereisonlyoneEquality-anythingelseisinequality.Therecannotbe
differentlevelsofEquality,weareeithertreatedequally,
orwearenot.Thereisnomiddlepath.
IhaveheardthequestionaskedWhyshould
tradeunionistsbeinterestedinEquality?Surelywe
shouldbecampaigningonbehalfofallourmembers,
notjustafew?Theanswerliesintheveryrootsof
tradeunionism.Webelievethat,ifweworktogether,
membersworkinglivescanbedefendedandimproved.
Forsomemembersthequalityoftheirworkinglivesis
diminishedbecausetheybelongtoagrouphavingwhattheEqualityActcallsaprotectedcharacteristic.
TheEqualityActwhichcameintoforcein
October2010givessomeprotection.Theprotected
characteristicsincludeage,disability,gender
reassignment,marriageandcivilpartnership,pregnancy
andmaternity,race,religionsandbelief,sex,sexual
orientation.UCUhasrepresentativebodiescovering
Women,LGBT,DisabledandBlackandMinorityEthnic
memberswemayinthefutureneedtorevisitthese
categoriestoconsiderwhethertheyareappropriate.
DilutionHowever,inmanywaystheEqualityActrepresentsa
dilutionanddiminutionofprotection.Therequirement
tohaveEqualityImpactAssessments(EIAs)hasbeen
removed,therewillbenorequirementforpublicbodies
tosetoutthestepstheywilltaketoachievetheir
equalityobjectives,andtheywillonlyhavetopublish
oneormoreequalityobjectives(which,inpractice
meanstheywillprobablyonlypublishone).Thisis
whyUCUactivistsneedtoweaveEqualityissuesinto
localandnationalnegotiatingstrategies.Inthecurrentclimateofsavagecutsandredundancies,itisourmost
vulnerablemembersthatwillbedisproportionately
affected.Womenparticularlyhavebeenshowntobefar
moreatriskinredundancysituations,partlybecause
theyaremorelikelytobeinpart-timeorfractional
posts.Thegovernmentsausteritymeasuresareaclear
attackonallpublicserviceworkers,butareaparticular
attackonwomenandmembersinminoritygroups.
Agediscriminationisalsoappearing.Ourmembers
inthe50+bracketarebeingpressuredandbullied
intotakingretirementsothattheycanbereplacedby
younger,cheaperworkers.
BranchnegotiatorsshouldinsistonEIAsbeing
done.Publicbodieshaveageneraldutytopromote
equalityandwecanargueforcefullythatanEIAshows
compliancewiththatgeneralduty.
Equality OfcersThereisoftenanargumentthatEqualityshouldbe
mainstreamed,shouldbeattheheartofallwedoas
tradeunionists,whichhasanattractiveringtoit.But
withoutseparaterepresentationandseparatedemocratic
structuresthevoicesandviewsofourmemberssuffering
oppressionintheworkplacecanbeoverlookedandnot
takenseriously.
ThatiswhyeveryBranchandLocalAssociation
needsanactiveEqualityOfcertotakeupcases,work
withmemberstoimproveawarenessofEqualityissues
andtoputhelpputpressureonemployerstorecognisetheirlegalandmoralobligationsonEqualityissues.
ThatiswhyeveryRegionshouldalsohavean
EqualityOfcerandshouldbeencouragingand
supportingEqualitynetworkstoenablememberstoget
togethertoshareexperiencesandsupporteachother
andtosharegoodpractice.Thatiswhyatnationallevel
wehaveanEqualityCommitteetoprogresstheworkof
theunionandgeneratepolicy.TherearefourEquality
StandingCommitteesandfourannualconferencesfor
Women,BME,LGBTandDisabledmemberswhereissues
thatneedtobeaddressedbytheunionatnationallevelcanberaised.
UCUanditspredecessorunionsNATFHEandAUT
havealongandproudrecordintheareaofEquality.
Thishasnotcomeeasily;wehavehadtoghtfor
representationthroughoutourhistorybothwithinand
outsidetheunionstructuresandthisghtisnotyetover.
Weare,asBrendanBarbersaid,tryingtotiltthebalance
towardsafairersociety.Thiscouldtakesometime.
anGie Mcconnell
NECaNd WigaN& LEighCoLLEgE
angie mcconnellThe Importance o Equalities
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International News
The Chilean Winter
In Chile today a mass
movement contin-
ues. The protests of
the Chilean winter
are demanding free
and equal education.
Forthelastvemonths,
there has been awave of
protests and occupations
against one of the most
unequal and underfunded
education systems in the
world,asystemoneprofes-
sorhasdubbed education
apartheid.
Pinochets legacy
Whileacrosstheworldaus-
terity measures are being
introduced with new at-
tacks onpublic education,
inChiletheyhavesuffered
from a neo-liberal priva-
tised education system
sincePinochetrstallowed
themarketintotheeduca-
tionsystem.
Although more than
twenty years have passedsincetheendofthedicta-
torship,todayonly45per-
centofhighschoolstudents
studyinpublicschools,and
ordinaryChileanspaysome
of the highest university
fees intheworldtostudy
at underfunded and often
privatiseduniversities.
KissathonInresponsewehaveseena
waveofexcitingandradi-
caltacticslaunchedbythe
student movement, with
half a million out on the
streetsindefenceofeduca-
tion(with apopulationof
lessthan17million).This
includedamasskissathon
organisedtoshowhowpas-
sionatestudentsareabouteducation, a dramatic
fakedsuicideorganisedby
school students showing
thedeathofeducation,and
morerecentlythestorming
of the Chilean Senate by
hundredsofstudents.
Most schools and uni-
versities have been shut
throughout this time with
asolidstudentstrikerefus-
ing to back down to gov-
ernment repression and
intimidation.
This mobilisation has
been extremely success-
ful inpulling inwide lay-
ers of Chilean society in
defenceofeducation,with
anincreaseinteacherslow
wages a key demand forthestudents.
General strke
At the end of August a
two-daygeneralstrikewas
calledbytheCUT(Central
UnitariadeTrabajadoresde
Chile-TheWorkersUnit-
edCentreofChile-aunion
federation).600,000work-erswalkedoutonstriketo
jointhe studentprotest in
defenceofeducation.Sim-
ilarlytheminersunionhas
developedstronglinkswith
thestudentsunion.
Thepowerofthismove-
ment has created an ex-
tremelyweakgovernment,
President Pinera has only
roughly 24 percent sup-
port from the population,
while successive polls
haveshown72-82percent
in support of student de-
mands. From discussions
withactivistsinChile,itis
clearthatthemovementis
notgoingaway.
Onlyyesterdaythefac-
ultyofmedicineattheUni-
versityofChilewas occu-
piedby the students, whocontinue to challenge the
very nature of the educa-
tionsysteminChile.
The impact of this
movement is being felt
acrosstheworld,withtens
of thousandsrecentlypro-
testinginBogotaandother
Colombian cities against
reforms to higher educa-
tion, clearly inspired by
eventsinChile.
Such an exciting mass
movement uniting work-
ers and students, and em-
ploying new and creative
tacticsshouldbepublicised
and discussed in Britain
today, as they provide a
magnicent inspiration for
thoseofusghtingagainsteducationcutsandprivati-
sation.
sHirin HirscH
postgradUatestUdent,
UniversityofmanCHester
Protests and
Strikes in Egyptian
universities
The new academic
year began with
protests and strikes
across most Egyptian
universities.
Staffandstudentshave
beeninvolvedinercebat-
tlestoforcetheresignation
ofseniormanagementand
university presidents ap-
pointed by the Mubarak
regime.
Nine university presi-
dents resigned under the
pressure of combined stu-
dentandstaffprotests,with
the heads of Ain Shams,
Alexandria,AssiyutandSo-
hagUniversitiesquittingin
thespaceofasingleweek.
Thepresidents of eight
other universities (Man-
soura,BeniSweif,Zagazig,Damanhour, Suez Canal,
Menouya and Kafr Al-
Sheikh)retiredduring the
sameperiod.Electionsheld
in mid-October brought
some formerMubarak ap-
pointees back into ofce,
prompting protests from
someacademics.
The Arab Spring
Students,lecturersandother
universitystaffhaveplayedan
important role in the revolu-
tion so far. Student protests
overissuessuchastuitionfees,
thecostoflivingandstudying,
andfreedomofspeechandde-
mocracyoncampuscontinued
throughoutOctober.Othergroupsofuniver-
sity workers also took ac-
tion,suchastemporaryad-
min workers atMansoura
University who organised
ahundreds-strongsit-into
demand permanent con-
tracts at the beginning of
October.
Protest wave grows
Meanwhilethewaveofpro-
tests continued to spread
from thewell-knownpub-
lic universities, such as
CairoandAlexandriawith
long traditions of student
andstaffactivism,toother
partsoftheuniversitysys-
tem, including the minor
provincialuniversities,pri-
vate fee-paying universi-
ties (which are often run
inpartnershipwithforeign
universities),andeventhe
ancient Islamic university
Al-Azhar.
For more reports on
theworkersmovement in
Egyptand toget involved
insolidarityactionsgoto:
www.menasolidaritynet-
work.com
anne alexander
UniversityofCamBridge
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8/3/2019 UCU Left Mag
16/20
16 YAnother Education Is PossibleYWinter 2011
ManyUCUmembersareupto their
neckscopingwithdemandingwork-
loads.Manyunionactivistsaretry-
ingtostayaoat,managingthedayjob
andunionwork.
Thehard-pressed local union ofcer,
jugglingthedayjob,casework, localne-
gotiations and disputes, may wonder
whether it matters who becomes their
newGeneralSecretary,Vice-Presidentor
NEC representatives. How does all this
relatetoimmediateissuesofjobsecurity,
threatstopensions,risingworkloads,stat-
icpaylevelsandfallinglivingstandards?
Doesitmatterwhomembersvoteforin
nationalelections?Willvotingmakeany
difference?Yes it does matter and voting can
makeadifference.Notonlybecausewe
shouldexercise ourdemocratic rightsto
voteinunionelections.Decisionstakenat
nationallevelimpactontheworkofour
branches. There are real choices before
us.ThatiswhyUCULeftisstandingcan-
didatesintheforthcomingGeneralSecre-
taryandNECelections.
Our candidatesOur candidate for General Secretary is
Mark Campbell - a lecturer at London
Metropolitan University and NEC mem-
ber.Markknowswhatitistobeonthe
frontline.Hehasbeeninvolvedincam-
paigns and industrial action at London
Mettodefendjobsandconditionsofser-
vice.Markisaprincipledanddedicated
trade unionist who is committed tode-
fendingeducation both for thestudents
andtheworkers.Our candidate for Vice President is
Angie McConnell. Angie isa lecturer at
WiganandLeighCollege.Shehasserved
ontheNATFHEandUCUNECs.
In2012theVPistobeelectedfrom
the FE sector, but this isanelection in
which allmembersareentitled tovote,
sincethepersonelectedwillbePresident
ofthewhole union. Angie isan experi-
encedtradeunionistwhowillupholdand
defend the UCU constitution andmem-bersdemocraticrights.
Uniting the struggles can winWorkingpeople areunder attackon al-
most every front: job cuts, pay freezes,
planstoslashpensions,risingprices,in-
creasingworkloadsandcutstostateben-ets.Weneedtounderstandtheseattacks
are all partandparcel of the economic
crisisandtheausterityprogrammeofthe
government. The anti-union laws mean
thatwe sometimes have to ballot sepa-
ratelyondisputesaroundpensions,pay,
jobsandothermatters.
Unfortunatelysomeintheunionuse
thisfacttoarguethatmemberscanonly
ghtonebattleatatime.Thisisuseless
whenthegovernmentisattackingusonsomanyfronts.Thuswehaveahierarchy
ofdisputes,whichcangivetheimpression
thatalltheunioncaresaboutispensions.
Thisishopelessforrecruitingandmo-
bilisingyoungerandnewerstaff,suchas
lecturers and researchers on temporary
contracts, hourly-paid, part-time and
graduateteachingassistants.Theystrug-
gleforthebasicrighttohaveajob,sothat
theycanthenhaveapension.Weneedto
respondinaholisticand integratedway
totheoffensivefromthegovernmentandtheemployers,notbedividedandpicked
offinonebattleafteranother.
The fght o our lives
In order to win the ght of our lives,
weneedtoputuptheghtofourlives.
Thismeansweneedmorethanone-day
strikes.Theyare a good beginning, but
weneedtoplanforlongertermaction.
UCUneedstoargueinthewiderlabour
movementforseriousindustrialactionby
themassoftradeunions.Wealsoneedto
unitewith students, service users, anti-
cutsgroupsandotherswhowishtochal-
lengetheprivatisationandmarketisation
ofeducationandthedestructionofpublic
services.
Building a fghting union
UCULeftexiststobuildUCUasaght-
ing,democraticunioninwhichthemassof members are involved in defending
their jobs, pensions, pay and working
conditions.Thisiswhatweneedtodoto
win.Wecannothaveamodelofaunion
inwhichmembersarepassiveconsumers
whoreceivesupportfromofcialsorlocal
repswhentheyhaveacaseworkproblem
andhavenoother involvement in their
union.Weneedallmembersactiveinde-
fendinglocalandnationalagreements.
Weneedmorerepsintheworkplace.
Weneedaunionperspectiveandpractice
inwhichthemembersaretheunion.The
presentGeneralSecretaryofferedus the
opposite atCongress 2011, emphasising
morecaseworkandservicesformembers,
ratherthanaunionbasedontheactivism
ofthemembership.
Union democracy
UCULeftbelievesUCUshouldtakedeci-
sionsonthebasisoffulldebateandvotes
atbranchmeetings,regionalcommittees
and Sector Conferences and Congress.
TheNEC shouldcarryoutthedecisions
ofCongressandSectorConferences,not
useconsultation exercises toundermine
them.
Theproblemwithemailconsultationexercises is that they individualise the
membershipandproducendingswhich
can be interpreted selectively. There is
nothingwrongwithmembershipconsul-
tationexercisestobuildaction.Thereis
arealproblemwiththemwhentheyare
usedtoproduceevidencethatthemem-
bersarenotpreparedtoact.
It matters who gets elected
UCUmembersneedaleadershipcommit-
tedtoghtingtheGovernmentsausterity
programmeandtoupholdingthedemo-
craticproceduresoftheunion.Withthe
rightleadershipwecanghtbackeffec-
tively.Withthewrongleadershipwewill
haveone(orboth)handstiedbehindus.
Vote for theUCU Left candidates.Build
UCUasaunionwhichcanghtbackand
win.
liz laWrence
neCand sHeffield HallamUniversity
The importance o the General Secretary election
liz laWrenceWhy elections matter
-
8/3/2019 UCU Left Mag
17/20Another Education Is Possible YWinter 2011 Y17
All in our union will agree. We are facing anunprecedented battle facing a Governmentdetermined to impose the will of the market
on everything, and to abolish what remains ofthe welfare state, publicly funded education,and the National Health Service.
Itsjusticationisthereductionofthedecit,but
thatisnomorethananexcuse.Thequestioniswhat
mustweineducationdotodefendouruniversities
andcolleges,andourroleasscholarsandteachers
andrelatedstaff,andwhatkindofUCUdoweneedto
organisethatdefence?
My Record
ImarankandleUCUactivistandChairoftheUCU
CoordinatingCommitteeatLondonMetropolitanUniversitywhereIhaveworkedasaSeniorLecturerin
Computingforthelast10years.ImUCULondonRegion
RepontheSouthEastandEasternRegionalTUCand
Vice-ChairofitsPublicServicesCommittee.
ImamemberoftheUCUsNationalExecutive
Committee(NEC),andhaveservedontheRecruitment,
Organisation,andCampaignsCommittee(ROCC)for
thelastfouryears,andhaverepresentedUCUatthe
TUCCongressforthepastthreeyears.Ihavebeenin
theforefrontoftheghttodefendjobsandcourses
atLondonMetandhaveplayedaprominentroleon
theNECindefenceofpensions,payandmembersconditions.
IfelectedasGeneralSecretary,Ipledgetoonlydraw
theequivalentsalarytomycurrentlecturerssalaryplus
anyincreaseswewinforourmembers,theresttobe
donatedtotheunionsstrikefund.
What I stand or
IstandforaUCUthatisledbyitsmembersratherthan
itsnationalofcialsthroughthedemocraticstructures
ofitsbranches,regionalcommittees,Congress,
conferences,andtheelectedlayofcersoftheNational
Executive.
Iamcommittedtotheview,basedonrecent
successfulexamplesofcollectiveghtbackliketheSave
Esolcampaign,ortheballottorejecttheunacceptable
dealovertheInstituteforLearning(IfL)inFE,thatifwe
aretoprevailwemuststandunitedwithourstudents,
withothertradeunionists,andwiththoseinour
communitieswhoareghtingthecuts.
UCUmembersinbothFEandHEhaveshown
overandoveragain,inballotafterballot,thatweare
preparedtostandupandghtbackwhenourconditionsandourserviceareattacked.
YIstandforaunionthatthatiscommittedtogetting
thebestconditionsformembers,notjustasaself-
interestedendinitself,butasacentralpartofdefendingpublicuniversitiesandcolleges.
YIstandforaunionthatwillndawayformembers
tousetheunionspowertodefendtheiracademic
independencefromthestricturesoftheREF,fromthe
pedababbleofacademicaudits,andfromimpossible
workloadsandconictingdemands.
YIstandforaunionthatvaluesallitsmembersandwill
campaignhardforitsmostprecarious-hourlypaid
lecturers,GraduateTeachingAssistants,andjunior
researchers-allcurrentlyonavarietyofexploitative
casualcontracts.
YIstandforatradeunionismthatiswillingtomobiliseinoppositiontoGovernmenteducationpolicy,andto
defendourstudentswhentheymaketheirsacrices
forfuturegenerations.Thatisaunionismthatwill
actonitsbeliefthatacohesivesocietyrequiressocial
solidarity,includingthatinter-generationalsolidarity
thatisrepresentedbytheprovisionofeducationasa
publicgood,andpensionsasasocialratherthanan
individualresponsibility.
A Member-led Union
Imcommittedtoademocratic,member-ledunionthat
willcampaignandorganisecollectivelytodefendboth
theprinciplesofwideaccessto,andademocraticethos
in,education.
MineisavisionofaleadershipfortheUCUthatis
committedtocollectivecampaigningratherthanone
seekingtodevelopanindividualservicingmodelthat
isover-reliantoncasework.Mineisavisionthatseeks
toplaytotheorganisingstrengthsoftheunionrather
thantofocusonappealsforsympathy,ortorelyonthe
supposedmagnanimityofouremployersorGovernment.
To read a full version and for more specic details, readMarks blog at http://markcampbell4gs.wordpress.com
The fght o our lives
markcampbellUCU Lets Candidate or General Secretary
-
8/3/2019 UCU Left Mag
18/20
18 YAnother Education Is PossibleYWinter 2011
Picture:GuySmallm
an
What is the UCU Let
UCU Left is a national organisation of University and
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n the UCU has a democratic structure through which
members can determine policy
n elected ofcers and professional ofcials can be beldaccountable.
UCU Left seeks to:
n defend educational equality
n oppose the consequences of neo-liberal marketisation
n oppose all forms of racism, sexism, oppression and
imperialism.
Join UCU Let
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