The below is about the 2020-21 dispute at Goldsmiths. For information on the current (2021-22) fight over planned redundancies, see our resources page here.
GUCU is currently in dispute with University Management, over their failure to guarantee a fixed period of time with no compulsory job cuts. Staff losses will affect students directly. You, as students have had a truly terrible year in so many ways – but you have also produced outstanding work and we hope that you know, if it were down to us, we would have done things differently about how the Universities sector treated students during the pandemic and in struggles before this.
Staff have been hiding their own struggles as much as possible, but we really now have no other choice. That is why staff members of GUCU are taking action short of a strike (ASOS) – see explainer below. We believe our demand is reasonable. Management should allow us all, at the very least, to genuinely ‘recover’ from the pandemic, by continuing to keep our jobs, and to make sure that we are fully staffed to deliver the best of our work in the months to come, with safely manageable workloads.
We have put together some resources below, which we hope will provide you with more information and answer many of your questions.
In addition other forums are being organised where you can come a discuss the issues and any questions or concerns you might have. We hope these forums can also be a place where staff can understand more about what is happening for students and how we can support and build shared struggles over our working and learning conditions.
- Staff Student Assembly Thursday 28 January 12-1pm: https://goldsmithsucu.org/2021/01/21/goldsmiths-staff-student-assembly-thursday-28-jan-12-2pm/
- Staff-student department meetings – are also being organised at a department level
- Contact us – in confidence- with your questions directly: gucustudentliaison@gmail.com
More information about the issues and what ASOS is:
- GUCU letter to students about the issues and industrial action
- GUCU FAQs for students what is ASOS – action short of a strike – and how will it affect you?
- GUCU slide presentation for students about the issues and action involved.
How you can support our cause?
- Add your name to this open letter to Goldsmiths management – urging them to stop cutting jobs
- Join the staff-student assembly on Thursday 28 January 12-1pm
- Get connected with staff-student groups in your department.
Background Information:
- An account in The Guardian by a casualised Goldsmiths staff member about action to stop job cuts over the summer, which particularly affected BAME staff and women.
- An update by Goldsmiths Justice for Workers on the outcome of cuts that took place at Goldsmiths over the summer
- GUCU urgent letter of concern to the warden about lack of support for staff and students: https://goldsmithsucu.org/2020/09/30/urgent-letter-of-concern-at-lack-of-support-for-staff-students/
- Recent vote of No Confidence in senior management by academic staff: https://we-are.gold/2020/11/21/vonc-results/