[sas-announce] Support the AUT/NATFHE industrial action

[Josh Robinson]

*please forward where appropriate*

Dear all,

Many of you will have noticed that members of the AUT and NATFHE 
(lecturers' unions) are currently involved in industrial action (an 
assessment boycott) in order to improve their pay and working conditions.

Lecturers' pay has decreased by 40% in relative terms over the last 20 
years. And after pay claims have been effectively ignored in recent years, 
the current industrial action has brought the employers' association, 
UCEA, to the negotiating table well in advance of the deadline. All signs 
indicate that the unions are in a strong position.

However, UCEA have not yet made a reasonable offer. Despite pleading that 
lecturers were underpaid in attempt to justify the introduction of top-up 
fees, and indeed promising that a third of the increased income into the 
sector would be spent on salaries, they have as yet refused to do so. Up 
to this point, the support of the NUS and other students' unions has been 
vital. Our anger should be directed at UCEA for refusing to give a decent 
offer, rather than at our lecturers who are fighting for better pay.

However, you may also have noticed that there is a right-wing backlash 
developing against the AUT and NATFHE's assessment boycott, appealing to 
many apolitical students' understandable annoyance at their exams being 
disrupted. Since it now looks as if NUS might change its position to 
attack the union, it's vital that we do all we can to support them - even 
if we're in a small minority. To that end, Students Against Sweatshops and 
Education Not for Sale activists Sofie and Dan have set up an online 
petition.

It's vital that as many students as possible add our voices to those 
supporting our lecturers' claims for decent pay. Email volsunga at gmail.com 
to add your name.

The petition is at http://www.free-education.org.uk/?p=184#more-184

In solidarity,

Josh