Students occupy Arts Centre

Students occupied a section of the Arts Centre in solidarity with the staff who were on strike.

The group called ‘Protect the Public University’ posted a statement online at 2:52pm on Tuesday 2 December, in which they described their motivation for the occupation of the Woods-Scawen Room, formerly the Arts Centre Conference Room (ACCR), in the Arts Centre.

“We have chosen to occupy this site in order to significantly disrupt the operation of part of the university which is central to its broader reputation, and thereby to raise awareness on campus of real terms wage cuts and exploitation of support staff and junior lecturers.”

It is believed that around 40 students took part in the occupation.

The occupation ended at around 8pm the same day, with patrons of the Arts Centre applauding students as they left the building, according to an anonymous student.

The building was on lock-down as students walked through the building to leave and an anonymous student involved with the occupation told the Boar that security staff filmed the students as they left, though this has not been confirmed.

A Warwick Business School lecture, which was due to take place at 10am in the Woods-Scawen Room was cancelled in anticipation of further occupation.

The tutor sent the following message to students: “As you may have seen, the Woods-Scawen Room in the Arts Centre is currently under occupation. IB238 Managing Organisations is scheduled in this room for tomorrow 10am – 12pm and unfortunately there is not an alternative teaching room available for this time to accommodate you.”

The strike by members of Unison, the University and College Union (UCU) , Unite and the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) which took place on Tuesday 2 December, is the second this year after staff walked out on October 31.

Staff have been offered a one percent pay increase which was set by the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), which actually represents a 13 percent pay cut in real terms since October 2008. The unions’ are asking for a three point two percent increase in pay, in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation at the time of the pay negotiation.

The University has stated that there are additional incremental and merit pay increases on top of the standard one percent rise: “The universities have made a final  offer through UCEA  of one percent – but that offer also sits on top of other pay increases. Many staff in universities (43 percent this year) will as normal move up one step within their pay band as they do each year also be receiving  around an additional  three percent incremental pay increase. Those at the top of pay bands will also be able to access additional merit pay awards. This brings the total cost to universities around three percent, which is at the limits of affordability and sustainability.”

This is the second occupation this year, with students also occupying nearby Senate House in June 2013.