Glasgow Caledonian University
Combined Union Committee.
Press  Release
For immediate use.

Convenor of  GCU Combined Union Committee: Dr Nick McKerrell 07905318640

Vice- Convenors Vince Mills  07814615224 
 Chris MacNicol

CAMPUS UNIONS  “APRIL FOOLS” RALLY AGAINST PRIVATISATION TOMORROW 1PM

GLASGOW CALEDONIAN UNIVERSITY
COMBINED UNION COMMITTEE
ANTI-INTO RALLY

ONLY A FOOL WOULD PRIVATISE HIGHER EDUCATION!
Tuesday April 1st 1pm

Outside Saltire Centre

SPEAKERS:  Local MSP Pauline McNeill
Glasgow MSP and Councillor Bill Kidd
Staff from Oxford Brookes University
UNISON and UNITE speakers
Terry Brotherstone UCU (Scotland) President

THAT’S ANOTHER PFI-NE MESS YOU’VE GOTTEN US INTO!

Glasgow MSPs Pauline McNeill and Bill Kidd to address rally.

University management refuse invitation to speak.
Keep INTO out!
Unions demand “No secret deals with big business!” 

Support is growing for Glasgow Caledonian University Combined Union campaign against senior management’s plans to enter a deal with secretive private company INTO.

Local MSP for Glasgow Kelvin Pauline McNeill– Caledonian’s constituency – will speak to the rally as will Glasgow MSP and Councillor Bill Kidd along with union officials.  There will also be speakers from Oxford Brookes University unions who successfully kicked INTO out of their campus.  The rally has received backing from many unions with the Scottish President of the UCU due to speak.

University management have refused an invitation to attend the rally to explain their plans and have continued to stay quiet over the details of the deal. 

INTO plans to open an access college for international students using public funds and university resources.  This company have arrangements with only four other universities in England.   Staff employed by INTO would be on lesser terms and conditions than other university employees. 

Bill Kidd MSP said 

“The Scottish Government have committed £130million to Universities and Colleges which is the best deal yet and, as a publicly-funded body, I would expect that Glasgow Caledonian should make a commitment to ensuring that staffing and service delivery to students should be kept firmly in the public domain. Therefore I oppose the use of INTO as a private company accessing public money in a deal with one of our universities to hijack the public provision of education in Scotland.”

Dr Nick McKerrell, Convenor of Glasgow Caledonian Combined Union Committee (CUC) said:  “Support for our rally against the University’s plans to enter a dodgy deal with INTO has been rolling in from across the country.  Staff realise the implications of privatising a core service of Higher Education.  If we let INTO in where would it stop!”  

“We intend to stop dead in its tracks the idea of passing massive amounts of public money to a private company”
	
“It is a shame that university management have not seen fit to speak to staff attending the rally to explain the rationale for their secretive deal
“Glasgow Caledonian would be the first University in Scotland to allow INTO in.  Experience in the few universities that they have managed to get a foothold in show that once in the door INTO would offer other core services – threatening staff jobs and terms and conditions”

“This money making deal has lost sight of any academic values.   Although the whole deal is  shrouded in secrecy it seems that as well as transferring money to this company University facilities will also be handed over directly to them.”

“Staff on campus will not allow management to get us INTO this PFI-ne Mess”

Terry Brotherstone President of UCU Scotland said
“We congratulate the combined union committee at Glasgow Caledonian for standing up against the strong arm tactics of INTO and the secrecy of the management at the university. There is a national pattern of the privatisation of education that must be resisted at local level but UCU nationally fully supports these campaigns. We require a proper higher education system based on democratic principles not back door deals based on profit.” 

The Combined Union Committee consists of representatives of the EIS, GMB, UCU, UNISON and UNITE.