It has just been announced that the UK Border Agency has withdrawn international student statuses from London Met, leaving thousands of students forced out of university through no fault of their own.

To sign the following statement “condemnation of the withdrawal of London Met’s international student status – solidarity with staff and students at London Met”  email [email protected]

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As officers, students and representatives of thousands of students from London HE institutions, we express our outright condemnation of the withdrawal of London Metropolitan University’s Highly Trusted Sponsor status by the UKBA, which has been announced on August 29th.

HTS status allows the university to sponsor international students from outside the EU to study in the UK, and after much speculation, it has now been announced by UKBA that London Met’s license has been revoked.

The withdrawal of HTS status at London Met represents the first case of a publicly-funded university having its license revoked.

This reckless decision by UKBA has left over 2600 international students at London Metropolitan University in an incredibly vulnerable situation. They are now unable to renew their visas, unable to start or continue their studies past September, and are faced with the option of having 60 days to either find a place to study at another HE institution or having to forcibly leave the UK.

As fellow students, we condemn the racist, xenophobic policies of the Coalition government and of the UKBA, which are the prime cause of this shameful state of affairs. As part of their efforts to crack down on all immigrants, the UKBA has been targeting and criminalizing international students, introducing harsh systems of surveillance within universities and now taking their studies and livelihoods away. We believe this to be unacceptable: education is a right regardless of country of origin, and it is deplorable that students should be treated as criminals and manipulated in such a heavy handed manner.

This attack on students at London Metropolitan, a predominantly working class, London-based university, follows the damage wrought in the past few years by loss of public funding, financial mismanagement, privatisation and cuts to courses enforced by its management. The removal of HTS status infers yet another tragic blow to London Metropolitan University, and this cannot be allowed to go unchallenged, for the sake of its students and staff, the institution as a whole and the future of public higher education.

We stand in solidarity with all the students affected at London Metropolitan University, and with the staff who are continuing to resist the systematic attacks which have affected their institution. We support action taken by students and staff at London Metropolitan University against the withdrawal of HTS, and call on the Government to immediately reinstate London Metropolitan’s HTS status, and stop jeopardizing the futures of thousands of international students who have chosen to study in the UK and are now instead faced with the prospect of deportation.

London Met SU are putting together plans for a protest, further details out soon.

To sign the statement or press/media communications, email [email protected]

On November 30, members of UCU, Unite, Unison and GMB unions will be on strike at universities across the UK. Student activists and Student Unions should be supporting them! The strike is the first big blow in a national fight over public sector pensions. Pre-1992 and Post-1992 universities have different pensions schemes and are at different stages of negotiations – but workers in both are facing pension cuts. It’s in students’ interests that staff are treated well and that includes getting a decent pension. It’s also right that in a civilized society, everyone should have a right to a dignified retirement – especially in a society like ours where bosses and the super-rich are prospering to obscene levels. Don’t be fooled by right-wing newspaper propaganda about “gold-plated” public sector pensions and “generous” offers. The government is out to reduce pensions to a pittance – and public sector workers only have halfway decent pensions at all because they have fought to protect them!

But the strike is about more than just pensions. It is an important test of strength. The government’s plans for cuts and privatisation in Higher Education – laid out in the HE White Paper – mean that Vice Chancellors and ministers are making preparations for another big fight with campus staff. If the strike on November 30 is successful, employers will think twice about foisting cuts on education workers in the future. This is an important test of strength which will shape the coming battle over cuts – so it is doubly important that it succeed, and that ongoing organisation and student-worker co-operation comes out of the strike.

So what can students do?

1) Join the picket lines! Shut down the campus!

Picket lines are key to a successful strike. A picket line is a way of showing the determination of the strikers and their supporters – and stopping people from coming in to work! The purpose of a picket line is to actively discourage people from working on a strike day and undermining the campaign.

Students can help out with a picket line in a lot of different ways. The most important way to help is simply to be there – get as many students as possible to come to the picket line. Picketing can sometimes be a lonely and boring experience, and having a lot of students there will be great for workers’ morale. Making the picket line fun, colourful and vibrant is important too – bring coffee and cake, banners and placards, drums and political chants. Be imaginative!

Talk to the striking unions in advance of the strike. Ask them where their picket line will be, and at what time. Inform them of your plan to come and help out – they will surely welcome the support!

A picket line is not just for cakes and music, though – it has to communicate a message. Produce a leaflet and check it with union activists, explaining the dispute to students and the general public. Produce a lot of them and hand them out. Many students will be unfamiliar with a picket line and the idea that you should not cross a picket line – so explain what is happening and why they should not cross. Don’t just leaflet – talk to people! Read up on the dispute beforehand so that student activists are confident with making arguments.

Shut down the campus. It is likely, unfortunately, that a number of lectures will take place on the strike day. Choose one or two lectures to target, where there is likely to be a sympathetic response, and try to organise a walkout in support of the strike: leaflet the lecture and make an announcement.
Another way of shutting the campus down is to co-ordinate with the support staff who open up lecture buildings in the morning. Where possible, a plan should be made to ensure that the buildings are not opened.
Before taking direct action, check with striking workers. In general, it is better for students to be out and about during the day, leafleting and picketing, than to be in occupation. Save that until later.

2) Organise for future action!
The campaign to defend pensions and ward off cuts and privatisation will not end on 30 November. It is important that students and workers come out of 30 November with stronger links.

Organise a meeting before the strike day to discuss arrangements for November 30. Fix to meet up regularly after the 30th. Make sure that it is a meeting between students and members of all the campus unions – not just one. It should be a business meeting, where everyone can have a say, and a vote: not a rally with lots of speakers.

Find out what other grievances the workers have. Is there a dispute over pay and conditions brewing? What other matters do different groups of workers on campus want to organise campaigns around? How can students support this?

Organise a regular exchange of information between student and trade union activists – a joint blog, for example.

Set up a democratic, open anti-cuts group which isn’t the property of one individual or group, with an open email list, open organising meetings and properly-circulated minutes. Affiliate it to the NCAFC so that it is linked up nationally.

3) Demonstrate and occupy
If there is a strike demonstration and rally on the day, organise a big student contingent on that.
If possible, organise an occupation in the evening, in support of the strike and the NCAFC’s Vice Chancellor’s Pledge, to demand that your VC promises to not make cuts and to reject the HE White Paper. But do this at the end of the picketing and demonstration – it is important that on the morning and afternoon of the 30th students are out and about, not sitting in a room while the excitement goes on outside.

We have received this fantastic letter from a National Executive member of the National Union of teachers, Pat Murphy - it's a call for joint, coordinated action against the government's attacks on education and pensions. 

"Dear comrades,

During last year's student protests, occupations and walkouts, I coordinated a statement in support of these actions which was signed by a dozen members of the NUT National Executive, and forwarded it in solidarity to the NCAFC. (See here.)

I think this helped promote the idea in our union that student action, even where independent of the official NUS structures, can and should be supported by the broader labour movement. I hope it boosted the confidence and morale of the student activists it reached.

Since then a number of national public sector unions, including the NUT, have embarked on a campaign to defend our pension rights from the Tory government. Just as they seem happy to see young people live most of their working lives in debt, their pension proposals mean that we will have to live our old age in poverty. Our campaign to defend public sector pensions and win decent pensions for all includes industrial action, and began with the widespread national strikes on June 30th.

There will be more national strike action this autumn together with a national lobby of parliament and other actions local and national. It would be be useful to those of us determined to fight the Coalition's cuts agenda if we could seek to co-ordinate our actions in the months ahead as far as practically possible.

No specific date has yet been set for the next public sector strike but it seems most likely to be during the week beginning November 7th. I understand that discussions have been taking place about a national student day of action and demonstration around the same time - probably November 9th. Our organisations will be subject to different pressures and influenced by our own particular allies (in our case the
other teacher and public sector unions) which makes precise co-ordination difficult - but we should attempt it as far as we can. 

It would be useful, as a first step, if NCAFC organisers were to consider approaching the Left Caucus of the NUT Executive and its main supporting organisations amongst NUT members (the Campaign for a Democratic and Fighting Union and the Socialist Teachers' Alliance) inviting them to discuss how we can best co-ordinate our actions to make them more effective. I can provide you with contact details.

In solidarity,

Patrick Murphy
NUT National Executive member (Leeds, Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield)"

Last year’s national student demonstration, on the 10th November, sparked the biggest wave of student struggles in Britain for more than twenty years. As the academic year begins, we need a national demonstration to rally the student movement and prepare a new stage in our fight back against fees and cuts.

So far, however, the leadership of NUS – scared of what they unleashed last year – have refused to move. That’s why the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts has started to organise a national demo, setting the date for 9 November. We call on NUS to come on board and take over this initiative. A demonstration that week also opens up the possibility of coordinated action with teachers, lecturers and other unions on strike over pensions.

As part of our call for a 9^th November national demonstration to defend education, we stated the importance of a public meeting to discuss how to build the biggest possible national demonstration – and for this demonstration to be the property of the whole movement.

We are supporting  the call for an open education assembly onthe 10th September. We welcome the letter calling for unity within the student movement – these meetings should be co-organised with those currently raising the proposal of an assembly and we invite all activists, students and education workers from across the UK to both meetings.

A facebook group is already live. Click here, and invite your friends.

For more information contact NCAFC national Committee member and
RHULSU President Daniel Cooper: email [email protected] or ring

07840 136 728

NCAFC NC Online Meeting 31/07/11 Minutes

In attendance:

James McAsh

Daniel  Cooper

Edd Bauer

Jade Baker

Alice Swift

Gordon Maloney

Bob Sutton

Arron Peters

 

Apologies:

Eshe Asante

Greg Brown

Ed Maltby

 

Agenda:

1) Training event

2) National demo 3) National demo- open planning meeting

 

1)      Training Event

1. Discussion of dates. Proposed Dates 03/09/11-04/09/11, 02/09/11-04/09/11 (with the 3^rd of September being reserved for UAF Demo),  04/09/11- 05/09/11

                                        a)    03/09/11-04/09/11 London may not be as good as Birmingham as people may choose not to socialise at UCL and do their own thing in the evening.

                                        b)    02/09/11-04/09/11 may put non-London based activists off and may be too long.

                                        c)    04/09/11- 05/09/11 – held in Birmingham, Birmingham was initially picked to be the place to hold it.

Taken to Vote to Chance initial date:

5 in favour, two against,1 abstention

Vote passes to change date so it will not clash with UAF Demo.

Taken to Vote for 04/09/11- 05/09/11 (Sun-Mon)

Unanimous vote

Vote passes to hold training event on 04/09/11- 05/09/11

1. People need to follow up their speakers, make sure they are preparing something well in advance so we can put it into a brochure.

                                        a)    James McAsh Needs contacts from Cambridge and Royal Holloway

                                        b)    Speaker details to be emailed to Jade Baker: [email protected]

                                        c)    Workshop for “Fighting for Liberation”- Matt Bond NUS Disabled Students Committee (2^nd NEC place) confirmed attendance.

                                        d)    “Fighting for Liberation”- Edd Bauer to contact Malia Bouattia from the Black Students Campaign. – Edd to give Jade Malia’s details.

                                        e)    Proposal to swap “Fighting for Liberation” with “Creative Campaigns” due to some speakers unable to speak on the Monday.

                                         f)    inviting contacts; people should be continuing to compile a contact list and send that to Ed Maltby, give out leaflets

                                        g)    The rest should be followed up by working group.

 

2)      National Demo- Open Meeting to be called in Late August (27th/31st August)- in Liverpool/ London.

                                        a)    Call people about getting an agreement for the meeting and then get the committee to vote to approve the date

                                        b)    Need to speak to Sean Raczkca – Aaron and Daniel to contact tomorrow 01/08/11

                                        c)    Committee members to help Edd and James with outreach on facebook messaging people 1-1

                                        d)    Set up a working group up to deal with the website/possible paypal?

                                        e)    Should get a model motion to send to Unions- Edd Bauer to draft model motion.

 

Next Meeting: Monday 8^th August 7pm

Activists from the newly set-up Open University campaign (OU) attended the recent NCAFC conference. They spoke about the difficulties they were facing and the way the campaign has developed. The campaign has produced a statement:

“We believe that the foundation of the Open University represented a historic commitment to free, egalitarian education for all.

Therefore we want to ensure that the Open University is at the forefront of opposition to education fees, budget cuts, and privatisation.

We recognise that the dispersed nature of the Open University student body poses challenges for political organisation and activism, and we intend to discuss how to overcome these difficulties and turn the situation to our advantage.

Since we are not confined by an enclosed campus, but move continually between the world of work and study, we are in a unique position to realise the common factors uniting students and the broader movement for social, political and economic justice.

Thus we are also dedicated to the defence and expansion of social welfare in general.

There are over 250,000 students, 7,000 tutors, 3,500 support and admin staff and 1,200 academic staff at the Open University – together, we will be a powerful force!”

If you’d like more information on the campaign go to the facebook page, search “ Open University Students, Staff and Alumni Against Fees and Cuts”

   or website http://ouactivists.wordpress.com/ 

or contact Laurence Humphries on 07863671658