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UCL is threatening to cut staff pensions by 35% this year. This is an unprecedented attack on the livelihoods of our staff workers, including our lecturers, professors and teaching assistants. This is while UCL makes students pay skyrocketing fees to attend, even after an year of online schooling where they had reduced expenditures.
The UCL Students’ Union has shamefully come out against the strike without asking any of the students. We oppose this undemocratic move and are demanding a referendum on the SU’s support for the strike. But importantly, any referendum would probably be held after the balloting period for the staff strike has ended.
We do not want UCL staff to feel intimidated or worried when exercising their fundamental democratic right to strike as a member of a trade union. Whether they choose to take action is not up to the Student Union's few sabbatical officers that have pretended to speak for 40,000 students.
This is why we would like you to sign this letter of support which we will then forward to all staff members through the UCL University and College Union branch.
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The letter is as follows:
Dear UCL staff members,
This letter is to send you solidarity from students in the SU for your ballot and proposed strike action. We are behind you in standing up for your rights, for higher education, and for future generations of students.
As students at UCL, we are appalled by the Student Union’s undemocratic decision (made by a handful of sabbatical officers) to come out against the UCU strike. We are not represented by the implication in the statement that staff might not vote in the ballot. Not only does this interfere with your fundamental democratic right to strike as a trade union but also goes against the interests of students who deserve staff that have liveable pay, good working conditions and pensions you can retire on.
While it is true that as the Student Union states, many students have been impacted by COVID-19, we recognize that it’s been hard on everyone. Further, we refuse to allow UCL to exploit the pandemic as an excuse to to cut your pensions and potentially destroy the pensions scheme and thus divide students against staff workers. At the Student Union’s decision to vote against the strike, every single non-voting member spoke against the motion. We have as yet not encountered any opposition to the proposed staff strike whilst speaking to friends and fellow students on the student solidarity stall on campus. We do not feel that the decision of a handful of sabbatical officers in a rushed meeting represents the views of 40,000 students.
Speaking as students, we recognize that we will likely someday be in your position, especially for those of us who want to enter academia, and that bad work conditions for staff undermine the conditions of our education. Ultimately, your struggle is our struggle - we give you full support in taking strike action to defend our futures.
Solidarity,
Signed:
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To keep updated with the campaign (especially if you want to join our stalls and help us get signatures):
WhatsApp Group chat:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/FSUFZwBfHeAFr3xXYdFd9U Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/ucl_ssa/