by A UCU member
WM College in the heart of Camden, north London, is one of the oldest adult education colleges in Europe. It was founded in 1854 as The Working Men’s College by Christian socialists to provide a liberal education for Victorian skilled artisans. Today, it is a hub for the local community, providing ESOL (English for speakers of other languages), maths, English, IT, business, creative and performing arts, languages and community courses.
Photo: Elaine Brunskill
All education sectors are facing a funding crisis, but adult education has its own special problems to contend with. It is facing a 6% real cut in funding for 2025-26, following years of underinvestment. Adult education is seen as an easy target by successive governments, including Starmer’s Labour. Now the cuts are biting into our provision.
WM College is facing a £500,000 deficit for this year, and an undisclosed deficit for the previous two years. Following voluntary redundancies, the college has given affected staff just a three-week consultation period on compulsory redundancies, hitting learner services, the library and community courses.
This will affect all our learners, including the most vulnerable. How can any education establishment advocate closing such a valuable learning resource as a library? The length of time for the consultation, along with the timing of it – courses are coming to an end for the summer break – are deliberate steps by management to make it hard for workers to fight with strike action.
Unison and the University and College Union (UCU) in the college are working together to oppose the cuts. Camden Trades Council and local anti-cuts campaigners are supporting us. As well as putting an alternative to the college’s business case for redundancies, UCU and Unison are organising a protest against the cuts.
Union members are discussing what we need beyond our college too:
- No compulsory redundancies
- Full funding for education, including adult education – give the sector what it needs
- We need to build towards coordinated national action across all sectors of education
- For a new workers’ party against cuts in jobs and services
A consultation of UCU members in further education (FE) has concluded with 86% voting in favour of action on pay (further details of the vote are yet to be released). Meanwhile, the Association of Colleges employers’ group has decided not to make any pay rise recommendation to FE college bosses! Socialist Party members on the unions FE committee will be arguing for as strong a campaign as possible in line with the national action delegates voted for at UCU congress in May.