Further Education

Issues in further and adult education

Industrial news in brief

On Friday 1 May, the UCU union at Lewisham and Southwark college will begin the ballot for industrial action to save 110 full-time equivalent jobs. We are now one of several colleges in London preparing to resist attacks on our jobs and our ability to serve local working class students with what is for many the last chance to escape poverty and the hopelessness of unemployment. The bulk of the leadership and governance of further education in the UK are socially useless and parasitic on the funding of further education. They do little more than administer the dismantling of educational hope...

Fight cuts at FE college

Staff at Lewisham Southwark College (LeSoCo) are fighting £7 million cuts to staffing that could see 110 full-time equivalent jobs lost by July of this year. The cuts will also see the closure of the college's Camberwell site. On 15 April staff were called into a meeting by the college's principal-designate, Carole Kitching, who announced the cuts, but were not given the option of asking questions. Staff in Unison and UCU believe the cuts will have a devastating effect on the college and on local communities. The notion that the cuts will “save” the college is farcical. Despite the cuts to...

Disability news

The Independent Living Fund provides funding for severely disabled people to live independently in their own homes and participate in society — so it's an obvious target for the Tory-LibDem government to cut! Mike Penney, then minister for (attacking) disabled people, announced in March this year that the Fund would close immediately to new applicants and then close completely. Disabled people's organisations and trade unions have campaigned vigorously against this appalling cut. A legal challenge succeeded in having the government's policy declared illegal under judicial review. But the...

Survey: education, diary of a tubeworker & labour news

Student debt explodes: HE, FE (Daisy Forest, Ed Whitby) Out Proud and Organising (Daisy Forest) Diary of a tubeworker: Phew, what a sell out! Troops used against firefighters dispute (Chris Jones) The rail sell out Strike against casual labour Defeated council plans library closure To download PDF click here

Solidarity with Lambeth College strikers!

Picket lines in Brixton and Clapham remained strong this week, as teaching staff at Lambeth College continue their strike. Wednesday 11 June and Thursday 12 June will see Unison members strike alongside their brothers and sisters in the University and College Union (UCU). College workers are striking against a contract brought in by the college from April for new staff only, which will mean they work longer hours, will work during the traditional college holidays, and will have less sick pay. UCU members began an indefinite strike on 3 June. Students have received text messages telling them to...

Save Lambeth College!

Lambeth College workers struck on Thursday 1 May. Workers are fighting the introduction of reduced terms and conditions for new workers, creating a two-tier workforce at the college, and threats to the terms and conditions of current staff. An all out indefinite strike by members of the UCU union had been announced. However the bosses at Lambeth College obtained an injunction against that action. The 1 May strike was exempt from the injunction and so went ahead. The new package of conditions, which include reduced sick pay entitlement, increased hours and reduced holiday, are a national...

Diary of a striker

NATFHE members at Southwark College, south London, began an all out strike against compulsory redundancies on Tuesday 14th March. This is the diary of one striker. Article

Rebuilding independent working-class education

Colin Waugh from the Independent Working-class Education Network spoke to Solidarity about their draft manifesto. In the preamble to the manifesto, it is said that the document could be used as a pamphlet in order to build the network. What do you see as the main purpose of the IWCE network, and towards what end do you see it being built? To me, the central purpose of the network is to draw together a group of people who want to rebuild a form of independent working-class education that is in the spirit of the Plebs League but adapted to present-day circumstances. Through speaking engagements...

Edinburgh College workers plan indefinite strikes

Lecturers at Edinburgh's largest college plan indefinite strike action to stop attacks on their conditions at work. Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) have announced an escalated programme of strikes, beginning with a strike on 6 February (coinciding with the national Higher Education workers' strike in their pay dispute), followed by two days the following week, and three days each week after that. Their union is offering strike pay at a rate of 50% of normal salary for all strikes after 6 February. The lecturers' strike ballot returned a 92% majority for strikes, and the...

Support LeSoCo workers' strike for jobs!

The Floristry and Science departments at LeSoCo (Lewisham and Southwark College) are at risk of closure. These departments have provided our community with excellent services for many, many years. What’s more, the college is facing 28 full-time job cuts across the college. Access provision is also under threat and our Learner Services department is now facing a restructure. We are opposed to all compulsory redundancies. Following large-scale support for strike action (86%) and action short of a strike (96%) at LeSoCo, we are taking an hour's strike action next on 17 July over the continuing...

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