gair rhydd
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GUARDIAN STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR
ISSUE 812 MAY 1 2006
CARDIFF’S STUDENT WEEKLY free word - EST. 1972
SEE PAGE 3 FOR DETAILS
SUMMER BALL ACTS REVEALED
S I H G U O N E H G U O EN
Students lose patience with lecturers’ strike action as summer assessments loom
By Tom Wellingham Editor CARDIFF STUDENTS have voted to oppose the ongoing lecturers’ strike action that is currently taking the form of an assessment boycott. Last week, the Student Council voted to continue supporting the legitimacy of lecturers’ pay claims, but refused to support the strike methods used by the Association of University Teachers (AUT) and NATFHE. The Student Council also mandated the Unions’ sabbatical team to sign the open letter currently being sent to Sally Hunt, the AUT’s general secretary, condemning the actions of the teaching unions.
The letter, written by Gaston Dolle, President of Bristol Students’ Union, urges the AUT to target Universities using ‘other forms of protest’ which would be less detrimental to students, such as research, and has now been signed by more than 32 unions nationwide. The result of last Monday’s vote means Cardiff now joins the growing number of unions that are adopting a position on the strike in direct contrast to the NUS’s national policy of support. A stance recently reiterated by President Kat Fletcher who said, “NUS stands firmly by its decision to back both NATFHE and AUT in their call for better pay. “We strongly believe that we are represent-
ing the interest and well being of students by supporting their campaign, as only a wellpaid and highly motivated workforce can deliver the high-quality education that our members expect and deserve.” Despite appearing on BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme to defend the National Union’s position, Fletcher now appears to be facing somewhat of a rebellion over the issue with unions in Exeter and Sussex who are apparently now so disillusioned with the National Union that they are threatening to ‘form their own organisation’. All this continues against a backdrop of continuing deadlock at the negotiating table between the AUT and NATFHE and the University & Colleges Employers’
Association (UCEA). The current round of talks, which began last week and are being facilitated by conciliation service ACAS, once again failed to kick-start the process of formal pay negotiations, although AUT and NATFHE representatives did welcome the UCEA ‘admission’ that a new pay offer was needed. With the annual examination period now fast approaching, the prospect of students being seriously affected by the action short of a strike is becoming a very real possibility as the crucial coursework begins to pile up. Cardiff’s Vice-Chancellor, Dr David Grant recently told the Times Higher Education
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