THE dispute between Universities and Colleges Union and Universities UK over deterioration in pension rights for the younger generation has now seen four days of strike action. They are defending already modest final-salary pension rights against proposals to link future pensions to unpredictable stock exchange results. Future pensioners will not know from one year to another how much their income will be.
Developments in this dispute will interest readers of The National involved in political action. While lecturers are picketing their places of work, they’re organising “teach outs” covering some very interesting topics. Students are supporting their tutors by doing similar in many places. They have been inviting short talks on previous industrial actions, showing films such as Pride, about lesbian and gay support of the miners in the 1980s, and a session on Decolonising Education. They are questioning the idea of a neo-liberal higher education system, while also defending their and future generations’ employment rights.
The Yes movement in its varied forms will find an echo in these developments. Much of what we are trying to do is echoed in this dispute. Many young (and not so young) people are becoming politicised and would appreciate our support. We can do this by sending messages of support and raising the matter in our own organisations.
Cathie Lloyd
Letters, Loch Broom
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