Well done for N30
You might have noticed the slight delay in getting this update out – but it has been manic in the wake of the historic strike on November 30th. Over 500 in Kingston, 400 in Leatherhead, and around 300 in Woking – just about 1,000 people in Surrey attended rallies that David Cameron described as a “damp squib”. Well, I don’t know what his definition of a “damp squib” is, but N30 was the largest strike in Surrey for a very long time indeed. And it was only damp when the heavens opened on the London demonstration! Not that it dampened anyone’s spirits, mind.
You can find photos from the day on our Flickr.
To those of you who went over and above, who piled in the extra hours leafletting, convincing colleagues, building solidarity and came down on the rallies – a massive thank you just don’t cover the appreciation we have for your hard work and effort.
It’s clear that N30 won’t be the first such action if the Government doesn’t back down, either. Many union activists are asking the question of our leaderships – what next? We have to keep up the pressure to ensure a fair deal for public sector workers. The best place to discuss that is at…
Next SOSiS Steering Committee Meeting
… where we’ll be discussing what next for the pensions campaign in Surrey.
Monday 12th December, 7.00pm
Trinity Methodist Church
Brewery Road, Woking
Please do come along and have your say in where we take the campaign next. If there are other things you’d like on the agenda, please let us know. We suspect that this might also be on the agenda:
Royal Holloway is Occupied – a critical time for the occupation
Royal Holloway students have been in occupation of the Management Corridor of the Founders’ Building for over a week. In that time, they have been in dialogue with the College Principal, Paul Layzell; as well as Professor Graham Smith of Royal Holloway UCU and Father Vlad, the college chaplain who talked about his time as a Soviet dissident, as well as Chris Leary from SOSiS talking about the value of trade unions and what the RHACA could do next.
The occupation – which has involved a broad layer of students – has been served with notice to leave. Layzell claims he’s been campaigning against “aspects” of the Government White Paper on Higher Education – we believe that he’s been pioneering a new type of “silent campaign” where he says nothing publicly and hopes that his ardent, passionate public silence will somehow convince the Government to climb down. The occupiers, less than impressed with this tactic, are demanding more visible action from their college leaders.
It’s vital that we support the occupation – for students, it’s their form of strike action. Find out more by visiting http://occupyrhul.blogspot.com
ACADEMIES MEETING TOMORROW
Don’t forget about the academies meeting tomorrow:
Should YOUR school become an “academy”?
Thursday 8th December, 7.00pm
Main Hall, Guildford College, Stoke Park Campus
Speakers from NUT, NASUWT, UNISON
Sponsored by Surrey County Council Trade Unions and Save Our Services in Surrey
And if we don’t see you before…
… have a very good Christmas break and we’ll see you refreshed (if slightly well fed!) in 2012.
Solidarity,
Save Our Services in Surrey
