This week I am practising a little of what NUS preaches and at TUC conference as a member of the trade union that I joined while at university to be my friend at work while I worked a bar and served in a shop – Amicus. Work was so important to me to keep myself at university and although it was another distraction from my course, it was an absolute necessity.

I found myself unable to stop myself getting active; something that I saw through while President of the University of Birmingham Guild of Students, setting up a trade union partnership with our job shop meaning that every student recruited to a job, gets information to recruitment them to a union so their rights at work are protected. To support this there will be an Amicus Society that will act as the trade union branch, an active campaigning part of the students’ union and support for case work for those students vulnerable at work whether they are international students working in a foreign language or local students still in their sixth form job.

Anyway, all this means this week I am an Amicus delegate to TUC Congress, getting to be one of the many delegates getting to witness Gemma’s speech and ultimately fighting for vulnerable, low paid workers.

Today (Monday) I was honour to address congress with the speech below about an issue important to students and now, the TUC!

If you want to know more about my work, TUC Congress or if have views on the speech, please email me. My phone number is still 07966 161 444.

- - - - - - - -

TUC Congress: Strengthening Workplace Democracy Speech

President, Congress,

The gulf between too many of our members in education and college management is ever growing, the wholly negative marketisation of education in the FE/HE sector means the:

• Corrosion of the our collegiate structures;

• By passing of academic committees; and

• Top down dictates of College Principals and Vice Chancellors.

Our role at work is ever changing, the creeping privatisation is corroding our workplace progression.

• Rights for part time workers;

• Powers to negotiate on pensions; and

• Access to non union members.

Not boxes to be ticked, but all battles to be one!

The place of trade unionists on learning and skills bodies, college boards and university councils, alongside learners, is a must! The perverted form of customer that top-up fees has created - and vice chancellors are now seeking to prevent - may be the key to upholding learner and student members of these governing bodies in the short term but without workers – academics, teachers and support staff, free from management control - this learner voice is being isolated in favour of lay members who feel no effect from the decisions they take. As someone who has sat as a student on a HE governing body I have watched the pure rubber stamping of the vice chancellors mates, where the great and the good act as cannon fodder for the college managers. Together trade unions reps and student unionist – the two progressive forces on campus – can work together, win together and prevent these attacks.

And in conclusion, “Cut in courses” cannot simply be the last line of a motion, because they are never without their impact of jobs and sparingly about alterations to meet the market but about:

• Job losses for our members whether they be lecturers or support staff,

• Regional skills gaps that sever local opportunity; and

• The removal of an ability for many second chance adult learners, especially in the further education sector.

So please, I implore you, support this motion.

The Blogs on this site represent the individual views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or practices of the National Union of Students.

All links in blogs will open in a new browser window.

The permanent URL for this specific blog entry is: http://www.officeronline.co.uk/blogs/richardangell/272969.aspx