A sensible response to Covid-19 is Distance (Learning).

The University and College Union (UCU) at University of Brighton held a demonstration against the University’s reckless approach to teaching in the days of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Government’s SAGE advice recommended converting all university teaching to ‘online’, but the University of Brighton has insisted that staff continue to teach in person, even when individuals have expressed concern about exposure to Covid. The University’s actions have meant that numbers of confirmed cases amongst staff and students increased by over 300%. It seems clear that this has contributed to a new local outbreak of the illness in Brighton and Hove, endangering not only the students and staff, but the entire local community.

In addition to protesting this dangerous work environment, staff demonstrated against the university’s ridiculous restructure of the Information Technology department, which is set to include compulsory redundancies.

For staff who lose their jobs as part of this process, their last working day will be Christmas Eve. At a time when more and more teaching is being forced online and the need for technological support is at an all-time high, the university has decided to cut the number of technical staff who can support us and our students during this crisis.

We again thank our members for their show of support in the consultative ballot and also for today’s demonstration.

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