Sunday 19 December 2010

Two events taking place tomorrow (Saturday) 18DEC10

1. TUBE STRIKE
Tubeworkers from the RMT Bakerloo Line will be on strike tonight and tomorrow. There will be a picket line at the Elephant and Castle, Bakerloo Line entrance this evening and tomorrow morning. Please go along and show your support.

2. BRIXTON TOPSHOP: "SAT 18 DEC = PAYDAY "
11AM outside Topshop
Last year Philip Green, owner of TOPSHOP DODGED £290 MILLION
That money should have paid the EMA for over 276,000 students and paid for their school sports! LETS TAKE TAX ENFORCEMENT INTO OUR OWN HANDS
For details and other PAYDAY activities go to UKUNCUT.ORG.UK

Thursday 9 December 2010

JOIN OUR ACTION TODAY & DECISION TO MAINTAIN OCCUPATION - from Camberwell Arts College

ALL MEET AT LCC (ELEPHANT & CASTLE) AT 10.45
we leave Camberwell occupation at 10. Then head up to LCC, then LSBU for their walkout and rally, then go our own route for our action, which will be peaceful, unarrestable and really, really fun! 

Last night we had an amazing night; with Pil and Galia Kollective coming down at short notice to give us an intelligent, open debate, and JJ from the Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination got us all thinking up and running about with his group direct action games. The two contrasted really well and got us all ready for today!

We also obtained the financial information we demanded from the university! This was one of our demands, and we are the first occupation to have this demand met! The books prove that 70% of the CCW budget is spent on administration, most of which is at Davies street , which Camberwell did without for many decades, which we DO NOT NEED. ONLY 30% OF THE CCW BUDGET IS SPENT ON TEACHING RESOURCES. WHAT??????????

We had a big meeting after dinner with about 36 people present, where we decided on a peaceful, unarrest-able action that we will be doing with London Southbank University this morning. We decided that it was really important to show solidarity with other local colleges and Universities, so that we start to create a lasting local network of action and support. 
Please do come out and meet up with us and make yourself useful on what will be a historic student day of action!

In other news,
WE HAVE DECIDED TO KEEP OCCUPYING. It would be no good if the moment we are meant to be on holiday, we give up our fight for 4 weeks! We all decided last night that we will stay in occupation through the holidays. This means we will need as many people with any spare time to come down over the next few weeks, and join in and stay. We need to show the university, the government and the public that we are not just here for a laugh, and that we should be taken seriously. We will continue to use the space for organising, making, and planning actions, and keep making a nuisance of ourselves. 

Come and join us today!
The occupiers
x

Wednesday 8 December 2010

Anti-cuts campaign gears up in next few days – HOW YOU CAN HELP

Following the central London demonstration by thousands of students last week, including many from Southwark schools, there is another, even bigger march on parliament this Thursday: DAY X. And next Tuesday 14th we will be demonstrating at Peckham Town Hall against Southwark council’s spending cuts.

WHAT YOU CAN DO STRAIGHT AWAY
Pass on this email, text or phone others, use Facebook to spread the word - Tell friends/fellow students, workmates and campaigners about the events below
Contact everyone in your community group/union branch

Action this week:

Leafleting today and tomorrow (Tuesday/Wednesday)
Can you help to give out leaflets? (Ring John on 07519811657 urgently)

Tuesday 7th : Support the Occupation at Camberwell Arts College!
Send messages of support.Contact Nik: 07921956219; Catarina: 07549942903; Tobias: 07512248598; camberwellanticuts@gmail.com

Wednesday 8th : students day of Action
South Bank University Assembly of University Staff & Students - speakers: a student from a London occupation, local trade unionists etc. (4 pm - 6pm in Room B230);

Thursday 9th : The vote on tuition fees takes place in Parliament (Daytime and evening protests)
Students, workers, communities, family-members, friends...
WE NEED EVERYONE THERE! (If you can't leave work early, come after work)
11 am - LSBU students assemble; 12 noon - school students and all others.
London South Bank University, Keyworth St, SE1 6NG, near Elephant & Castle. (If you work in central London, go to ULU, Malet Street, WC1E 7HY)
12-3 pm   Marches converge on Parliament
3pm - late
Vigil on Victoria Embankment /outside Parliament (til vote is taken)

Friday 10th : London Wide Assembly
All students and workers are invited to discuss what's next for the movement against University tuition fees and to defend the EMA. (6 pm at LSE, Clement House Aldwich WC2B 4JF)

Saturday/Sunday 11th /12th
Stalls and leafleting to advertise events on Monday and Tuesday (see below); Can you help? (Ring John on 07519811657)

Monday 13th - Day of Action to Save EMA
Local actions - morning & lunchtime. If you are a school student, send us your ideas, and we will try to get others involved!
4 pm  Protest outside the government's Department of Business, Innovation & Skills, 1 Victoria Street SW1H 0ET – school students, education workers and everyone - come along!


Tuesday 14th December at 3 pm (note new time)
Protest at Southwark Council Cabinet Budget meeting
which will be deciding which services will be cut and how many jobs will go! At the Town Hall, Peckham Road, SE5 8UB (Contact us for leaflets and posters)


Thursday 16th December: STOP THE MADNESS -HANDS OFF LOCAL HEALTH SERVICES
Public Meeting: SPEAKERS Dr Louise Irvine local GP , John Lister (Health Emergency) 7pm at WALWORTH METHODIST CHURCH, 54 Camberwell Road

Advance notice:
Next SSOS Organising Meeting on Wed 19th January
Open to all. Please come. 7pm, Room A3, South Bank Uni, London Rd building.


SSOS needs help with web/publicity
Southwark Save Our Services is growing fast to keep up with the massive attacks being launched by government and local council.

We have built the student actions, leafleted schools, colleges and in the street, held a protest outside the Town Hall, connected with council tenant groups - and started to be a focus for uniting and fighting the cuts. But we are running out of hands. None of us active members are techie-types - and our facebook/twitter/blogspot profiles are falling behind. We are not even finding time to upload our publicity leaflets! Nightmare!

We need someone willing to work with the other busy members to make sure our web presence reflects what we do and what we want to do. Can you help? Please contact Nicola at southwarksos@gmail.com

Camberwell University of the Arts Occupied today!

Monday 6 December 2010

At one o’clock this afternoon, Camberwell College of the Arts joined a wave of other occupations around the UK. It became the first of the UAL’s colleges to occupy in protest against the proposed cuts; which are especially harsh for arts and humanities education, and the rise in student fees. The students called for all arts students to join the occupation, or take their own action in solidarity.
                             
They released this statement:

We, the students of Camberwell College of Arts, believe that if the massive cuts proposed for education happen, it is unlikely that academies such as ours will continue to exist. Arts and humanities courses are being targeted with the largest cuts, while still requiring a great deal of funding, which even a rise in fees will not cover. In response, we have decided to occupy the Wilson’s Road building at our college.
We see the arts as occupying a vital place within society, one which benefits us all, both culturally and economically. If arts education ceases to be a viable route for students, that benefit will be lost.
An artless society is a heartless society!
We oppose the transformation of education into a market. Education should be a forum for all publics, not just those who can afford, to learn, experiment and debate.
Therefore, we call for all arts students, especially those from UAL to join this occupation, and call for more arts-led occupation and actions. We propose to use our space for a practice led resistance.  We will run workshops, performances, debates and experiments, creating a collective space of generative discourse. At no point will we disrupt any fellow student’s education, allowing all scheduled lectures to continue. We wish to propose, rather than simply oppose!

We demand that UAL:

Issue a statement condemning all cuts to Arts education, and the rise in tuition fees and defending the value (economically and culturally) of Arts education for society, and its place within government funded education.
·         Put pressure on the MP of every borough that UAL has a college in to vote against the educational reforms.
·         Guarantee that there be no more course closures, or course amalgamations. This includes, if possible, the re-instatement of the Ceramics courses.
·         Safeguard all jobs for our teaching, research and support staff.
·         Issue a statement guaranteeing no further cuts in access time to workshops and facilities. This means no losses of current facilities, studio space or access time to workshops.
·         Provide full details of the existing budgets, and any projections of how the budget is likely to be spent if cuts and fee reforms do happen.
·         Provide all cleaning, catering and security staff with a full living wage package, again with no loss of jobs or hours, and that all outsourced staff and services are brought back in-house.
·         Provide a more effective, regular structure for student feedback which effects positive change, in the normal running of the University.
·         Do not victimize anyone taking part in this occupation.
·         Allow free access in and out of the occupation for all students, staff, speakers and other visitors.

The Occupiers, Camberwell College of Arts


Contact Details:

Nik: 07921956219
Catarina: 07549942903
Tobias: 07512248598
Twitter: @camberwellantic
Facebook: Camberwell Anti Cuts
http://www.3-camberwell.blogspot.com/

Wednesday 1 December 2010

SIMON HUGHES speaking at South Bank University - Thursday 2DEC

Join the protest - Simon Hughes, LibDem MP, is speaking at London South Bank Uni. We need to put pressure on the LibDems to honour their pre-election promise and vote against the hike in tuition fees. Come along at 5pm Thursday 2DEC10 on London Rd at the Elephant & Castle to make your voice heard!

Sunday 28 November 2010

Southwark SOS Newsletter - sign up email southwarksos@gmail.com

This week has seen a huge development in opposition to cuts both locally and nationally: students blockaded Simon Hughes’ surgery, others students at South Bank Uni occupied – and won their demands! On Wednesday hundreds of Southwark school students joined the demonstration in Whitehall.

Action this coming week:
  • everyone can do something
  • let friends/fellow students, workmates and campaigners know about these events – pass on this email, text or phone others 
  • contact everyone in your community group/union branch 
If your community/ tenants/trade union group would like to hear what Southwark SOS is all about, please contact Andrew on 0790 644 6137

Tuesday, 30th November 
Day X2: Day of Action against Tuition fees , Education Cuts and stopping the EMA
Walkouts, student strikes and protests are being planned. Details are being worked out - Southwark schools, colleges and South Bank Uni will all be affected. One starting point will be:
12 noon Assemble in Trafalgar Square
Other events to be announced (see Southwark SOSA Facebook)

Wednesday, 1st December 
Our next SSOS Organising Meeting
Open to all. Please come along. 7pm, Room A3, South Bank Uni, London Rd building. (Ring 0790 644 6137 for further directions).

Thursday, 2nd December 
Self Defence Coalition of Disability Benefit Claimants Planning Meeting
The Lorrimore Centre (in St Paul’s Church), Lorrimore Square, SE17 3QU at 2 pm.

Friday 3rd December 
Hands off Mental Health Services - demonstration
Called by the Health Sector branch of Unite trade union, Maudsley Hospital main entrance on Denmark Hill, 12 noon-2pm

Sunday 5th December 
Right To Work Unity Forum
Please contact us if you would like to go. NUJ Head Office, Headlands House, 308 Grays Inn Road WC1X 8DP – 11 am-4pm.

Advance notice:

14th December at 7 pm
Lobby of Southwark Council Cabinet Budget meeting
which will be deciding which services will be cut and how many jobs will go! At the Town Hall (More details to follow.)

Thursday 25 November 2010

Students occupy Simon Hughes office at Southwark Tube!

just in from twitter!


As reported by Sarah Cunnane in the Times Higher Education:
Students protesting against plans for higher tuition fees and the abolition of the Education Maintenance Grant have barricaded themselves in the constituency office of the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats as demonstrations continue across the country.
The occupation of the office of Simon Hughes, MP for Southwark and Bermondsey, on 25 November was led by students from the London School of Economics, London South Bank University and the University of the Arts London.
They said they planned to stay put until Mr Hughes honoured his pre-election pledge to vote against a hike in fees. A parliamentary vote on the issue is due to take place before Christmas.
Charlotte Gerada, general secretary of the LSE Students’ Union, said: “We campaigned for [Lib Dem MPs]. We’ve written letters, met with MPs, marched and demonstrated [in opposition to higher fees], but the Lib Dems have still refused to keep their promise.”
The occupation is part of a wave of student action across the country.
The universities of Strathclyde, Oxford, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Essex, Cardiff, Bristol, Plymouth, Leeds, Manchester, Sussex, Dundee, Newcastle and Roehampton, as well as the University of the West of England, the University of East London, London South Bank, Goldsmiths, University of London, Royal Holloway, University of London, the School of Oriental and African Studies, University College London and the LSE have all been disrupted by student occupations.
The universities of Warwick, Birmingham, Sheffield, Brighton and Manchester Metropolitan were all host to occupations earlier in the week.
Many protesters began the occupation of their institutions on 24 November as part of “Day X” – a continued protest against government cuts. School pupils, sixth formers and university students marched across the country to demonstrate against the plans.

Wednesday 24 November 2010

London South Bank University in OCCUPATION!

This report outlines the developments that have led to today's action. Show your support, go down to the occupation or email defendsouthbank@gmail.com


The Defend LSBU! Defend our education! Campaign at London South Bank University (LSBU) had its origin sometime early this year.

A change in management at the university, coupled with the financial downturn, resulted in a change in industrial relations some months ago. During the first half of 2009, LSBU management fundamentally mutated the definition and philosophy of its ‘core business’ and its students became ‘customers’ in their eyes.

The new vice chancellor, Professor Martin Earwicker, issued a corporate plan based around a market-oriented vision of higher education. Two objectives set the tone of the document. First, it calls for students to be treated as customers, positioning the interaction between staff and students as an economic relationship. The second objective was to create an industry-driven offering, cost effective and in line with market demand - notably ‘non-viable’ courses would not be subsided. The writing was on the wall for LSBU as a provider of arts, social sciences or a wide portfolio of courses for its student base - approximately one-third of whom (excluding international students) come from Southwark Borough itself.

From mid-2009 onwards, a series of high-profile figures visited LSBU, which appeared to position LSBU in line with changes in the higher education (HE) sector. Lord Browne launched his review of the funding of higher education at LSBU; his report this autumn can be credited with creating the conditions for trebling of fees and decimation of higher education funding proposed by the coalition government. David Cameron and David Willetts (then Shadow Universities Minister) both visited prior to the general election. Vince Cable made his ill-fated graduate tax speech here in July.

We feel these visits positioned LSBU in the vanguard of the realignment of HE - and new universities in particular - towards a new industry dominated agenda. The ideal of universities as arenas of debate and ideological independence is a thing of the past, according to this agenda.

Early this year, LSBU announced 100 redundancies, which the vice chancellor attributed to the credit crunch. As part of its strategy, management declared we would be the first HE institution to devolve from the national pay bargaining structure. This has enabled the university to be able to pay whatever it likes to lecturers, and to open up a new salary market. Lower pay at institutions like ours could trigger similar institutions to follow suit, with the elite Russell Group universities maintaining higher rates of remuneration. Our teaching quality might then drop over time, and offer a significantly poorer offering to our students than those at red brick universities.

In response to these redundancies and changes to pay bargaining, the first major gathering of lecturers and students occurred when the LSBU branch of the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) called a lobby outside Board of Governors meeting in April. This was a modest success, with a reasonable gathering of staff and students outside. This was this first demonstration at the university for years, but yet the mood among staff and students was less than confident.

As students we decided to form our own independent campaign, linking together with the onsite unions. ‘Defend LSBU! Defend our education!’ drew its membership from members of our campaigning minded societies.

Another LSBU Board of Governors’ meeting took place on 15 July 2010. The university had just announced the culling of the entire LLU+ unit - a centre of excellence for adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL, all of which are vital to giving people the opportunity to the go on to study at a widening participation university like ours. They are trying to cut 40 jobs in the unit. This time a much larger gathering of people arrived to protest against the closure - approximately 100 people. As staff and students attempted to enter the building to deliver a petition to save LLU+ , a tussle with security guards took place and the police were called. The action was rather short lived, but a well timed shift of the protestors to the back of the building caught the security off guard - we opened up the gate directly leading towards the part of the building where the meeting was taking place. This Board of Governors meeting was eventually called off because of the noise, and a delegate sent to meet us and hear our demands.

Over the summer months, a core of students held the campaign together and planned a student meeting for the beginning of the new semester. Students were brought together during a trip to Birmingham to be part of the Right to Work’s demonstration against the cuts outside the Tory Party conference at the end of September. 

When the emergency loans scheme for students and language centre were closed shortly into the new semester an emergency student meeting convened. After a well-organised action and student lobbying on campus, we delivered a petition of over 1000 student signatures to the university, demanding that Emergency Loans be reinstated and that the Language Centre be kept open. The mood on the day of delivery was such that students held up the traffic in London Road by marching through the road. The university accepted the petition, but refused to respond to the campaign.

On the 10 November a magnificent student and lecturer block of over 80 people marched through the roads from Elephant and Castle over Westminster Bridge and up Whitehall joining a demonstration of over 50,000 students across the UK.

A recent twist in the campaign, signalling an increasing hostility towards student activism on campus came when a Defend LSBU! Defend our Education! campaign meeting was shut down on campus by security. Students were told if they did not leave they would be removed by force. A motion opposing this undemocratic appears on our website: http://savesouthbank.wordpress.com/

The student and staff fight back goes on…

Defend LSBU! Defend our Education!
defendsouthbank@gmail.com

Tuesday 9 November 2010

BBC striker speaks to Southwark SOS meeting

More than 60 people attended the Southwark SOS public meeting last Thursday, with many of the audience contributing their ideas and opinions about the threats to jobs, services and pensions and how to fightback. A full report will soon be available online. 


NEWSFLASH: Students at Goldsmith’s College occupied the old Deptford Town Hall in protest at Government plans to raise tuition fees.  (http://savegoldsmiths.tumblr.com/ )

Friday 29 October 2010

Jeremy Dear, NUJ and Ian Leahair, FBU Exec to Speak at Public Meeting

STOP THE CUTS - Join the fightback in Southwark

The government’s public spending cuts will:
  • Wreck housing, welfare, further & higher education, leisure and health services.
  • Cut public sector pay and pensions.
  • Put thousands out of work.
  • Increase fares, childcare costs, council rents, course fees.
  • And much more.
PUBLIC MEETING
Come and join our discussion on how we can fight these cuts
Thursday 4th November / 7pm
Salvation Army Hall, 1 Princess Street SE1 6HH (Elephant & Castle Tube)

SPEAKERS:
  • Jeremy Dear, general secretary National Union of Journalists
  • Ian Leahair, Fire Brigades Union National Executive 
  • Plus local trade union and community campaigners

Sunday 24 October 2010

Thursday 4 NOVEMBER Southwark SOS Public Meeting

The next Southwark SOS public meeting will be held on Thursday 4 November at 7pm at the Salvation Army Hall, St Georges Rd/Princess St - Elephant and Castle. Speakers are just being finalised but it's guaranteed to be a good spread from the different campaign fighting agaisnt the cuts. Come along and get involved!

Friday 22 October 2010

150 Say NO to Cuts at Southwark Town Hall

On 20 October 120 people protested against the cuts in Southwark, where a lobby of the Labour Council was organised by the recently-formed Southwark Save Our Services (SOS) campaign. A large contingent of the Council’s manual workforce attended – from where many of the 1,000 job-losses are expected to come. Demonstrators heard speeches which called for a vigorous campaign of resistance, including industrial action. A deputation of service-users, UNISON and NUT representatives addressed the Council meeting making it clear that we want labour Councillors to join the anti-cuts campaign, not do the Con-Dem’s dirty work for them. As the SOS Campaign’s statement put it: “It’s been done before: we defeated Thatchers’ Poll Tax – together we can beat Cameron and Clegg!”

Monday 18 October 2010

DEMONSTRATE AGAINST THE SPENDING REVIEW - NO TO CUTS

Tuesday 20 October
from 6pm
Southwark Town Hall
Peckham Road SE5 8UB (corner of Havil St)
Bring banners, petitions, musical instruments, whistles… All ages welcome

Tuesday 12 October 2010

Targets for cuts - please update this list through posting comments

Thomas Carlton Centre Peckham - Cuts to adult education and course fee rises
London South Bank Uni - Tuition fee rises and cuts to courses
SLAM - Cuts of £3.7 million
Boyhood to Manhood Foundation
Library closures

Sunday 10 October 2010

STOP THE CUTS

In cinemas now you can see the film Made in Dagenham - the story of women car workers who went on strike for equal pay in 1968 - and won. We can win too. People are starting to fight back all over Britain against job and service cuts that will hit schools, libraries, nurseries, care of the elderly and disabled. Join trade unions and community groups in Southwark fighting government and local council cuts.

Demonstration
Tuesday 20 October from 6pm
Southwark Town Hall
Peckham Road SE5 8UB (corner of Havil St)
Bring banners, petitions, musical instruments, whistles… All ages welcome

Public meeting
Wednesday 3 November 7pm
Salvation Army Hall
1 Princess St, SE1 6HH E
contact: southwarksos@gmail.com

Save Adult Education in Southwark

Adult education in Southwark is facing severe cuts.
The tactic is to massively hike fees for learners in their
second term and insist each course recruits eight new people every term! But people won’t be able to afford to come back after Christmas and classes will be closed because of ‘lack of demand’.
Arts and crafts, fitness and dance, local history and other life-enhancing courses will disappear from
Southwark unless we act now. Thomas Calton
Centre in Peckham is the hub for Southwark’s adult education. Staff and students are already gathering support. Watch out for our campaign. Southwark
Council are hoping we will go quietly. We won’t!
What you can do:
 Join leafleting and petitioning Monday and Tuesday lunchtimes at Thomas Calton, Alpha St. SE15, (Behind Netto’s on Rye Lane)
 Join our banner at the demonstration at Peckham Town Hall, from 6pm on October 20
 To help Save Southwark Adult Learning: email SouthwarkSOS@gmail.com