Ruskin, the trade union college, is under siege

Sue Ledwith

Ruskin College, Oxford, UK has long been a home and heart of education for trade unionists worldwide. But no longer.

Just as organised labour is under siege from globalisation everywhere, with the rise in precarious work and falling membership, so Ruskin is under assault. This is a call for solidarity in support of the tutors who have been made redundant as their degree courses for international trade unionists were cancelled.

A petition has been signed by more than 1 000 supporters from the UK, from across the global north and from the global south, expressing shock and anger and urging a management rethink. Some want the unions, TUC, Labour Party and other affiliates and allied organisations to challenge the College’s actions: ‘Let’s have some action NOW,’ wrote one signatory.