Just after midday on November 13th students and union representatives from the University of Leeds assembled on Parkinson Steps. The gathering was a protest against the ongoing payment of the minimum wage to many of the support staff employed at the University, often individuals in cleaning and catering roles who are brought in by subcontractors.
Elizabeth Watkins, Leeds Uni Socialist Students
The protest was aimed to put pressure on the vice-chancellor to adopt the Living Wage across the university, a minimum hourly rate that is calculated to enable individuals doing a 37.5 hour working week to meet the basic costs of living. With the exception of London, the UK Living Wage is £7.65 per hour, a considerable increase on the £6.31 hourly minimum wage. It is calculated by Centre for Research in Social Policy, an independent body, and reviewed annually.
Organised by Leeds Labour Students and Unite the union, other students groups, including Socialist Students, turned up to show solidarity. The event preempted a meeting of the University of Leeds Council that afternoon where the adoption of the Living Wage was due for discussion.
Given that the Living Wage was one of the issues that university staff had recently taken strike action over and will be again on December 3rd, protests like this could provide a way of building support for that strike. It is an urgent necessity to build links between staff and students against the cuts and for an education system based on our needs.
Leeds Socialist Students 