Trade union leader calls for co-ordinated action against cuts

In a contribution to the Guardian on Sunday, 19 December, Len McCluskey, the General Secretary of the powerful trade union Unite, called for co-ordinated action between students and trade unions against the public sector cuts of the Con-Dem government. Unless trade unions follow the students’ example of resistance, these cuts could not be stopped. ‘It is our responsibility’, he argued, ‘not just to our members but to the wider society that we defend our welfare state and our industrial future against this unprecedented assault’.

Resistance against cuts to further and higher education in the UK

Current Con-Dem government plans to cut back funding for further and higher education in the UK are an unprecedented attack on the right to access to higher education. This attack affects students and members of staff alike, but co-operation between both sides is neither secured nor automatic. Anybody interested in successful resistance will have to think carefully about how to co-ordinate the various struggles.