Warwick UCU has received the following letter of solidarity from the Coventry TUC which is very heartening.
Dear Warwick UCU members,
I am writing on behalf of Coventry Trades Union Council to provide fraternal greetings and send a message of solidarity in your ‘Save Our Statute’ campaign. Coventry UCU let us know about the new Vice Chancellor Stuart Croft attempting to repeal Statute 24 that provides your members with protections, particularly in a redundancy situation. This is a clear attack on staff terms and conditions and job security at Warwick University. If this is allowed to go through then it’s highly likely these moves will be emulated throughout the Higher Education sector in general.
Sadly it has become common for today’s employers to lead a race to the bottom, treating employees as a commodity rather than as individuals that deserve respect. We condemn this kind of attitude and whole-heartedly support your campaign to defend Statute 24.
We understand that you are circulating a petition for lecturers to sign. Most of our affiliated branches aren’t lecturers but they would like to show their support. We would be happy to circulate the petition to the wider Trade Union movement in Coventry. Please let me know if this is something you would like us to do.
Our delegates would also welcome hearing a report directly from your members. We will be meeting on Thursday 15th June and Thursday 20th July. If you would be able to send a representative to one of those meetings please let me know and I will make sure your report is included on the agenda.
We would appreciate it if you would let us know how your campaign progresses. If the campaign needs to be stepped up then we will provide whatever support we can to your branch.
In solidarity,
Coventry TUC