STAND STRONG TOGETHER DEFEND COMMUNITY EDUCATION FOR ALL!

https://uculondonmet.wordpress.com/2015/11/23/solidarity-to-londonmet/

#savelondonmet #saveourreps

Yesterday our branch chair Mark Campbell and secretary David Hardman were made redundant in what is an outrageous attack on their strenuous and tireless trade union activties defending jobs and education at London Met.

More information about the campaign will be posted soon. For the moment, please support us by taking a photo with this poster share it on social media and please send a copy to us uculondonmet@mail.com or post it on our FB page

Here is a message from Mark, 30 April 2016

When they knock you down – get back up and hit them harder

Dear comrades and friends,

On behalf of David Hardman and myself, many thanks for the very many messages we have already received from so many of you following yesterday’s notification (in my case by email as I’m currently off sick after a serious back injury) of our compulsory redundancy from London Met.

We, and our union branch, recognise this for exactly what it is. An attempt to victimise active trade unionists and intimidate other staff into silent acquiescence for whatever educational destructive measure management wish to pursue.

Well, neither David nor I have any intention of being cowed and intimidated by those that know the price of everything and the value of nothing. We have a duty to fight to defend our members and the interests of our students and will continue to do so with vigour and as loudly as we possibly can.

However, this fight is not just about us, we are but two of a number of excellent educators who are being targeted as being surplus to requirements, whether permanent or our essential HPL comrades who are battling against the appalling zero-hour contract at London Met and further reductions in their hours. Our fight is therefore for all those targeted with redundancy – both open and in shadows, not just ourselves.

Also, what is quickly becoming evident is almost all those selected for dismissal are committed UCU members and educators that have on many occasions had the courage and principles to stand up and be counted. Those members, and ourselves, are now what our current VC, John Raftery, describe as the ‘actively disengaged’ who need to be ‘managed out’ of the university. He also had previously had the gall to suggest this will be to improve and support the student experience! Yes, we are disengaged – but not from our students. We are disengaged from a management that puts its own wellbeing above the interests of our students and the working class communities we are proud to serve.

We will shortly be launching a significant campaign to defend the right to speak out, to support union organisation, and defend staff jobs, terms and conditions – the real root to improving the student experience. We are also very happy to suggest to senior management some very specific cost savings that won’t in the slightest damage the student experience – but then again, turkeys seldom vote for xmas!

In the meantime, we would be grateful if you could visit our blog at the following web address, download the A4 poster, take a photo with it in solidarity, and post it on social media (emailing us a copy).

In solidarity

Mark…

Mark Campbell, London Met UCU (Chair)

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