The UCU (University and College Union) announced on July 31 that staff at Goldsmiths will take continuous strike action from Monday, September 23, as part of its long running dispute over the university's brutal redundancy programme. According to the UCU, 86% of members who took part in the ballot to extend the current industrial action voted in favour, on a turnout of 62%.

This level of turnout has involved a big effort from department UCU reps and other union officers and activists going into getting out the vote. Under Britain's vicious anti-union laws, any ballot on industrial action needs a 50% turnout to be effective. If this undemocratic 50% turnout threshold were applied to political elections in the UK, thousands of councillors and Members of Parliament would not be allowed to take their seats. Also as part of anti-union legislation, industrial action has a six-month mandate before running out. Only postal votes are allowed for trade union ballots, and given Britain's decaying privatised mail, this creates a barrier to achieve the 50% turnout. Nevertheless, the outcome has reflected the seriousness with which Goldsmiths staff view the situation, with a high level of anger amongst lecturers and other staff. In the face of 97 redundancies, a large chunk of academic staff, union members at Goldsmiths are redoubling their militancy and believe that continued resistance will bring victory.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: "Industrial action on this scale is a last resort but our members have been pushed to breaking point by Goldsmiths' insistence on forcing through its brutal redundancy programme. Management is in danger of turning Goldsmiths into an academic wasteland by slashing jobs and courses. They must think again, cancel the cuts and work with us to safeguard Goldsmiths' future. If they do not, we will have no choice but to take long term industrial action from September."

While the national picture is bleak with 40% of universities at risk of financial deficit, the Goldsmiths Senior Management team (SMT) must bear their responsibility for Goldsmiths crisis [1]. It is widely thought amongst staff that there is no current risk of Goldsmiths going bankrupt, but that the redundancies are being used, not just to save money but to weaken militancy and to restructure Goldsmiths along managerial lines. A college famous for sociology and the arts could end up as a bland institution dedicated to management studies.

Thus as well as redundancies, the so-called Transformation Programme would remove individual academic departments at Goldsmiths, with the SMT increasingly centralising and controlling the curriculum. History and sociology are particular targets for destruction. The SMT were going to close Goldsmiths' award winning Black British Literature and Black British History modules. The current industrial action has prevented this, although with continuing proposed redundancies staff teaching these modules are still at severe risk. Likewise if lecturers teaching Queer History are made redundant, despite not being formally axed this module will also disappear from Goldsmiths [2]. The UCU reports that it has already carried out a global academic boycott [3] of the institution and is calling on members, university workers, trade unionists, and supporters worldwide to boycott the university.

The marking and assessment boycott (MAB) in place has meant that UCU members have not been marking students' examinations and coursework. This has proved a powerful weapon of resistance. A wild-cat MAB in 2020 successfully prevented 500 staff on short-term contracts from being sacked [4]. Among the lecturers, there is the feeling that this gives an insight into the mindset of Goldsmiths' SMT, as it is worth remembering that the sackings were threatened during the Covid pandemic when staff were especially vulnerable.

Knowing that the MAB has been an effective tactic, the SMT have been deducting 50% of pay for members taking part and increasing pressure on staff. In response, the Goldsmiths UCU have been raising hardship funds to help lecturers resist [5]. Goldsmiths UCU members are sure that they have the ability to end the redundancy threat and the damaging transformation programme. "Dare to struggle, dare to win" is their slogan! Workers' Weekly wishes them every success in their struggle.

Notes
1.https://www.theguardian.com/education/article/2024/may/16/universities-in-england-risk-closure-with-40-per-cent-facing-budget-deficits-report-office-for-students
2.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/goldsmiths-queer-studies-university-controversy-b2583762.html
3.https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/13610/UCU-declares-academic-boycott-of-Goldsmiths-over-job-cuts
4. My university plans to lose 500 casual staff - so I'm refusing to mark exams | Anonymous | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/01/goldsmiths-sack-casual-staff-exams-universities-covid-19
5. To support Goldsmiths UCU, donate to the hardship fund here:https://goldsmithsucu.org/support-fund/

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