Students, staff and unions organise Manchester protests for end of January
11 January 2011
UCU and the National Union of Students (NUS) have joined forces with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to organise 'a future that works' protest in Manchester on Saturday 29 January to highlight the impact of government cuts on young people.
In addition to encouraging education staff and students to attend, UCU and NUS are working with colleagues in other unions to organise a peaceful march to a rally at the historic Platts Fields Park, which will start at 1pm. Full details of the march start time and route should be announced later this week.
Manchester has been chosen because the north-west has the worst youth unemployment rate in the UK and young people will be particularly badly hit by the axing of education maintenance allowances (EMA), tripling of university tuition fees and the cutting of youth services.
Speakers at the rally already confirmed include UCU general secretary Sally Hunt, NUS president, Aaron Porter and TUC assistant general secretary, Kay Carberry.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'The education sector does not exist in a bubble. Every single cut made by politicians has a human consequence. Cutting access to education and support for the most vulnerable will create a lost generation and do long-term damage to our economy and society. It is a national scandal that our young people are paying the price for a crisis caused by others. I am proud that UCU and NUS are standing together with the TUC not just for their own members but also for those who come after us.'
NUS president, Aaron Porter, said: 'The Government's ideological cuts agenda will damage communities across the country, reduce opportunities for young people and increase youth unemployment. We will continue to work in close partnership with our colleagues on university campuses and in trade unions to resist these cuts.'
UNISON general secretary, Dave Prentis, said: 'UNISON is proud to be supporting the TUC national demonstration on 29 January. The increase in tuition fees, the abolition of the EMA and Future Jobs Fund and cuts to youth work, careers and Connexions services represent a savage attack on young people. Young people should be the beneficiaries of support and investment, not the scapegoats for an economy shattered by the greed of bankers or the misguided government ideology that is hampering the chances of economic recovery.'
PCS general secretary, Mark Serwotka, said: 'Some of the most vocal and visible opposition to the cuts so far has come from students and young people, which is hardly surprising when you consider they have witnessed politicians lie to them over tuition fees and youth unemployment soar. We need unity between young people, students and trade unionists to build the biggest movement against the cuts seen for decades, and to show that these cuts are a political choice, not an economic necessity.'
National Union of Teachers general secretary, Christine Blower, said: 'No amount of window dressing can disguise the fact that the Coalition Government's proposals for getting rid of the education maintenance allowance and the raising of tuition fees will result in generations of young people being denied access to further and higher education on the grounds that they, or their families cannot countenance the cost of the debts with which they will be saddled. If higher education becomes the preserve of the wealthy it will be to the detriment of society.'
Manchester has been chosen because the north-west has the worst youth unemployment rate in the UK and young people will be particularly badly hit by the axing of education maintenance allowances (EMA), tripling of university tuition fees and the cutting of youth services.
Speakers at the rally already confirmed include UCU general secretary Sally Hunt, NUS president, Aaron Porter and TUC assistant general secretary, Kay Carberry.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'The education sector does not exist in a bubble. Every single cut made by politicians has a human consequence. Cutting access to education and support for the most vulnerable will create a lost generation and do long-term damage to our economy and society. It is a national scandal that our young people are paying the price for a crisis caused by others. I am proud that UCU and NUS are standing together with the TUC not just for their own members but also for those who come after us.'
NUS president, Aaron Porter, said: 'The Government's ideological cuts agenda will damage communities across the country, reduce opportunities for young people and increase youth unemployment. We will continue to work in close partnership with our colleagues on university campuses and in trade unions to resist these cuts.'
UNISON general secretary, Dave Prentis, said: 'UNISON is proud to be supporting the TUC national demonstration on 29 January. The increase in tuition fees, the abolition of the EMA and Future Jobs Fund and cuts to youth work, careers and Connexions services represent a savage attack on young people. Young people should be the beneficiaries of support and investment, not the scapegoats for an economy shattered by the greed of bankers or the misguided government ideology that is hampering the chances of economic recovery.'
PCS general secretary, Mark Serwotka, said: 'Some of the most vocal and visible opposition to the cuts so far has come from students and young people, which is hardly surprising when you consider they have witnessed politicians lie to them over tuition fees and youth unemployment soar. We need unity between young people, students and trade unionists to build the biggest movement against the cuts seen for decades, and to show that these cuts are a political choice, not an economic necessity.'
National Union of Teachers general secretary, Christine Blower, said: 'No amount of window dressing can disguise the fact that the Coalition Government's proposals for getting rid of the education maintenance allowance and the raising of tuition fees will result in generations of young people being denied access to further and higher education on the grounds that they, or their families cannot countenance the cost of the debts with which they will be saddled. If higher education becomes the preserve of the wealthy it will be to the detriment of society.'
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