The University of Sussex Students' Union just passed a motion of support for the strike, with reference to scab student labour in Liverpool, and with the intention of increasing student awareness about union organising. A letter is also being written to be sent to the Liverpool students' unions informing them about this and asking them to take some sort of action.
Other students on here should try and do similar things at their universities as it could be a good way of getting their student unions to start an education campaign about workplace organising (as is happening at Sussex now). Anyway, here's the motion in full.
This Union notes:
● That Royal Mail workers have been engaging in an industrial dispute of significant importance.
● That these workers are defending their work rights and conditions from a direct attack on the part of the Royal Mail bosses.
● That temporary work agencies have been recruiting students to fill in for striking postal workers, thus recruiting them as scabs.
● That in Liverpool around 300 students have been recruited for this purpose.
This Union believes:
● That it is the right of any worker or workers to defend their workplace and their conditions of work.
● That the outcome of this strike might set a precedent for upcoming public services pay disputes.
● That workplace struggles are of direct concern to students because students are workers in formation. In this sense, the present defence of working conditions by workers is thus the defence of future working conditions of present students.
● That students should in no way undermine these struggles waged by workers, but to the contrary, if anything support these.
● That the actions of the Liverpool students are, whether the students were aware of what they were doing or not, detrimental to the struggle of the postal workers.
● That students lack education about the union movement and the attack on public services.
● That education about the ways in which temporary work can undermine strikes can prevent this from happening again.
This Union resolves:
● That it will sign a statement expressing solidarity with the striking Royal Mail workers and send a letter to Liverpool's SUs to raise concerns about the ways in which temporary work for students has undermined the postal workers' strike. (Wording to be agreed by Operations committee)
● That it will put out information explaining what scabbing is and why it should not be done in its Media, in order to prevent students from further undermining the ongoing postal workers' strike.
This Union notes:
● That Royal Mail workers have been engaging in an industrial dispute of significant importance.
● That these workers are defending their work rights and conditions from a direct attack on the part of the Royal Mail bosses.
● That temporary work agencies have been recruiting students to fill in for striking postal workers, thus recruiting them as scabs.
● That in Liverpool around 300 students have been recruited for this purpose.
This Union believes:
● That it is the right of any worker or workers to defend their workplace and their conditions of work.
● That the outcome of this strike might set a precedent for upcoming public services pay disputes.
● That workplace struggles are of direct concern to students because students are workers in formation. In this sense, the present defence of working conditions by workers is thus the defence of future working conditions of present students.
● That students should in no way undermine these struggles waged by workers, but to the contrary, if anything support these.
● That the actions of the Liverpool students are, whether the students were aware of what they were doing or not, detrimental to the struggle of the postal workers.
● That students lack education about the union movement and the attack on public services.
● That education about the ways in which temporary work can undermine strikes can prevent this from happening again.
This Union resolves:
● That it will sign a statement expressing solidarity with the striking Royal Mail workers and send a letter to Liverpool's SUs to raise concerns about the ways in which temporary work for students has undermined the postal workers' strike. (Wording to be agreed by Operations committee)
● That it will put out information explaining what scabbing is and why it should not be done in its Media, in order to prevent students from further undermining the ongoing postal workers' strike.