Students rally to support staff

Campaigners gathered at the University of Glasgow’s Dumfries campus on Wednesday, the eighth day of industrial action over a proposal which would mean individual staff members losing an average of £10,000 a year from their pensions.
A total of 18 undergraduate and postgraduate students took hand-made banners and flags to the picket line on the Crichton Campus, on a day in which important talks were taking place between the University and College Union (UCU) and Universities UK (UUK).
Second year health and social policy student Ami Aindow, one of the organisers of the rally, said that students felt strongly about supporting the strike.
She said: “Missing classes is having a huge negative impact on my learning and as I am in full support of my lecturers and their decision to strike for the security of their future, it is disappointing that this situation has gone on for so long and that student’s education is being affected so dramatically.
“The rally will hopefully force further negotiations to take place and bring the strike and the un- certainty of our education and our lecturers’ future to an end.”
And first year primary education student Abbey Hutchinson said: “The result of this strike action affects not only our lecturers and their future, but in turn us as students.
“We, as the next generation of teachers, need to stand with our lecturers as it may in turn affect us and our pensions. If it starts with education, where will it end?”
University of Glasgow rector and human rights campaigner Aamer Anwar tweeted his support, saying he was ‘very proud’ of the students and that it was a ‘great initiative.’