Upcoming activities after the protest
12pm Saturday 2 April campaigning in Dundee City Centre – meet outside Primark (Overgate)
7pm Tuesday 5 April campaign meeting, Room G4, Tower Building, Dundee University
Friday, 1 April 2011
Dundee students mobilise against city campus and cuts
From Courier
Dundee school pupils planning walkout to protest cuts and campus plan
Secondary school pupils in Dundee are planning to stage a walkout today in protest at plans to cut education spending and establish a city campus for Advanced Higher courses
It is not known how many pupils plan to take part in the action, nor how many schools will be involved. However, some pupils at Harris Academy say they will walk out of class at 2.45pm.
The action is being taken in the wake of a decision to cut £4 million from the education budget for 2011/12 as part of the council's wider spending reductions.
Pupils are also aggrieved by the city campus plan, which will see pupils from different schools brought together to study for certain Advanced Highers.
The council say this scheme will benefit pupils by maintaining the viability of less popular courses.
One of the Harris pupils said, "We have taken this action as we feel our opposition to the council's plans and demands for real consultation are being ignored.
"The SNP administration is pushing through damaging cuts to our education and we have to organise a fight back to gain a voice.
"The city campus will mean that students who are seeking further education next year in the form of Advanced Highers are being mixed into bigger classes out of their own schools. This means the pupils affected will be unable to get the same attention and level of help."
Earlier this week the education committee agreed to carry out a review of the school estate. The convener has said there are no plans to close any schools, but she has not ruled out that possibility.
The Harr is pupil said, "£4 million cuts in education will destroy the future and potential of young people in Dundee."
A Students Defending Dundee Schools blog as been set up.
A city council spokesman said, "Young people are entitled to make their views known, but pupils should remain in class during school hours."
Sunday, 13 March 2011
How cuts were defeated in Renfrewshire - Two articles by Jim Halfpenny EIS member - Articles from Socialist Party Scotland website
| Mass rally of teachers and parents vow to fight cuts |
| Article by Jim Halfpenny EIS member 21st February 2011 |
“Let me say clearly to Renfrewshire Council. If you attempt to replace teachers with untrained staff then we will take our children out of school.” These words, by Stephen Wright, Chair of Renfrewshire Parent Council, were met with thunderous acclaim by the 800 parents and teachers packed into Paisley Town Hall and by the 350 people outside listening via loud speakers.
This meeting, which followed a 450 strong EIS meeting of teachers and parents just a few days before, comes from a spontaneous outpouring of anger of opposition to the SNP-led Renfrewshire Council’s attempt to save £1.2 million by cutting the hours of teachers and replacing them with lower paid seasonal staff to work on ‘cultural, citizenship and sporting learning activities’. This would result in the loss of 60 teaching posts.
Insult was heaped on injury when the council claimed that this move would actually improve educational provision.
If they had deliberately set out to create a tidal wave of opposition then they could not have done a better job.
Needless to say the Labour party hierarchy turned out in force to condemn the Nationalist administration. However, their patronising hypocrisy was swiftly punctured. Speakers from the floor questioned their intentions if they came to power after the Scottish parliamentary elections in May and the Scottish local elections next year considering that they were not prepared to condemn the Labour controlled councils throughout Scotland who were also making similar savage cuts to education and other public services.
It was clear that those in the hall saw this not only as a local fight but something that had to be challenged at a national level.
Speakers who highlighted the contrasting fortunes of the bankers and their bonuses with the potential loss of jobs among council employees and the destruction of local services were met with enthusiastic applause.
An EIS spokesperson reinforced the determination to fight when she said that while teachers did not wish to strike the EIS would take every action necessary to defend jobs. This came on the back of an indicative ballot of teachers for industrial action which produced a 97% “Yes” vote.
It may not be Egypt or Tunisia but in a few short weeks the political situation in Renfrewshire has been transformed.
We were warned that other local authorities were watching to see if Renfrewshire Council would get away with such an attack on their local community with the prospect of them doing something similar. But what has happened is that other Parent Councils and Anti-Cuts groups have taken confidence from the fight back in Renfrewshire and other local authorities will tread much more cautiously than before for fear of such a backlash.
Clearly the next step is to build for effective strike action, if the council refuses to back down, and to build the Anti-Cuts movement in Renfrewshire and across Scotland.
Insult was heaped on injury when the council claimed that this move would actually improve educational provision.
If they had deliberately set out to create a tidal wave of opposition then they could not have done a better job.
Needless to say the Labour party hierarchy turned out in force to condemn the Nationalist administration. However, their patronising hypocrisy was swiftly punctured. Speakers from the floor questioned their intentions if they came to power after the Scottish parliamentary elections in May and the Scottish local elections next year considering that they were not prepared to condemn the Labour controlled councils throughout Scotland who were also making similar savage cuts to education and other public services.
It was clear that those in the hall saw this not only as a local fight but something that had to be challenged at a national level.
Speakers who highlighted the contrasting fortunes of the bankers and their bonuses with the potential loss of jobs among council employees and the destruction of local services were met with enthusiastic applause.
An EIS spokesperson reinforced the determination to fight when she said that while teachers did not wish to strike the EIS would take every action necessary to defend jobs. This came on the back of an indicative ballot of teachers for industrial action which produced a 97% “Yes” vote.
It may not be Egypt or Tunisia but in a few short weeks the political situation in Renfrewshire has been transformed.
We were warned that other local authorities were watching to see if Renfrewshire Council would get away with such an attack on their local community with the prospect of them doing something similar. But what has happened is that other Parent Councils and Anti-Cuts groups have taken confidence from the fight back in Renfrewshire and other local authorities will tread much more cautiously than before for fear of such a backlash.
Clearly the next step is to build for effective strike action, if the council refuses to back down, and to build the Anti-Cuts movement in Renfrewshire and across Scotland.
| Renfrewshire: Victory over cuts |
| Jim Halfpenny EIS member February 23rd 2011 |
A huge mobilisation of parents, teachers and the local community have forced the SNP-led council in Renfrewshire to abandon plans to axe 60 teachers posts. The mass campaign involved a magnificent public rally of over 1,000 people in Paisley and an indicative ballot of teachers for industrial action which produced a 97% “Yes” vote.
This was in opposition to the SNP-led Renfrewshire Council’s attempt to save £1.2 million by cutting the hours of teachers and replacing them with lower paid seasonal staff to work on ‘cultural, citizenship and sporting learning activities’. This would result in the loss of 60 teaching posts.
Insult was heaped on injury when the council claimed that this move would actually improve educational provision.
But the politicians were forced to retreat by the huge opposition that their plans provoked.
But the politicians were forced to retreat by the huge opposition that their plans provoked.
This example of a mass community campaign linked to threat of strike action by teachers in the EIS are an example of how we can stand up to the cuts and win victories.
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