Birkbeck Unions against the Cuts
All three Birkbeck unions — UCU, UNISON and UNITE — are taking action together with our students in all the national and regional actions against the Con-Dem government’s plans massively to cut higher education funding and transfer the burden of paying for it to students by doubling or even tripling tuition fees.
These changes will be a disaster for staff and students, as they will turn back any progress that has been made over the last 50 years in broadening access to higher education and will risk fundamentally changing the nature and purpose of universities by turning them into ‘market-based’ institutions.
All three unions have strongly opposed the government plans from the start, and together with Birkbeck Students Union founded the coalition ‘Birkbeck Unions against the Cuts’ in October 2010. B2UAC - Birkbeck Unions Against the Cuts and Bloomsbury Unions Against the Cuts - are campaigning together with Bloomsbury Fightback to challenge present government policies which will have such a disatrous effect on higher education and on society generally. You can find out more about Bloomsbury Fightback here.
We have continued to work together to oppose the cuts, raise the profile of the issue within Birkbeck and organise support for national demonstrations and other actions. We continue to press the Master of Birbeck to join other Vice Chancellors in opposing the plans, and are working with other university bodies in Bloomsbury to champion the cause of higher education and defend Birkbeck from the disastrous consequences of current government policies.
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