UCU London Metropolitan are likely to campaign to get the University governors to remove the current management of the University. At present, according to studies presented in the THES, London Metropolitan is in the bottom 10 for student satisfaction and staff satisfaction amongst Universities in the UK. Management continues to issue pronouncements which do not address these realities - which are primarily the result of actions by the ever-expanding managerial tier.
The Union may also approach the Higher Education Funding Council which could, in theory, demand the Governors sack the management of the University - who already have the distinction of creating the longest ever industrial dispute in the history
of HE in the UK.
The financial difficulties faced by London Met are replicated at the University of Westminster, De Montfort, Middlesex etc. So far, the Government has not taken the obvious step - taken by Thatcher governments in the 1980s - of expanding HE as one of its responses to unemployment.
Instead, it is cutting HE funding in many areas, leading London Met - for example - to raise its entry requirements to try to increase its pass rates. This is very much contrary to the widening access/participation mission of the University and is bound to be replicated by other HE institutions whose places are primarily filled through Clearing rather than direct student choice.
The University is now targetting Amanda Sachur, key UCU organiser at the University on a risible allegation of using University time for UCU activities, thus increasing animosity from staff whose confidence in management has never seemed lower.
Steve Dawe, London Met UCU
At 00:18 21/01/2009 +0000, Phelim Mac Cafferty wrote: signed. please support.
All London Metropolitan University management are attempting to sack 330+ members of staff across the university in the next few months. In addition, they are currently
victimising one of the leading UCU officers at the university. Please visit the London Met UCU website at www.lmuucu.org.uk for some background information on these disputes and to sign our petitions. In solidarity
>Mark... Mark Campbell London Met UCU and NEC
Management proposals are even worse than they originally suggested: instead of 330 full-time equivalent posts, they now want to cut 550. This would mean that a quarter of the staff would lose their jobs and could easily threaten the viability of the entire university. Although other universities are feeling the pinch, none are anywhere near this; proposals for redundancies are mostly in single or double figures.
ReplyDeleteStudents are very worried, not unnaturally, and have rallied in support of union responses. Please see our websites for details of actions you can take to support us. The whole issue of wideing participation is at stake here.
www.lmuucu.org.uk
www.savelondonmetuni.blogspot.com