rhifyn 1151 issue 1151
gair rhydd
24 chwefror 2020 24 feburary 2020
Check out Gair Rhydd online
Cardiff University’s student paper | Established 1972
Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus i bawb! Happy St David’s Day to all our readers!
Strikes begin with Labour Leader speech
Charlotte King Sam Tilley
O
n Thursday 20 February, University College Union (UCU) strike action commenced for the second time this academic year. The most recent bout of strike action sees UCU members, consisting of university lecturers and postgraduate students, striking for 14 days staggered over the next few weeks. UCU hosted a strike rally in Alexandria Gardens behind Cardiff University Main Building on the first day of the strike action last week. At the strike rally, Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party Leader, was in attendance and spoke to the crowd about the latest bout of industrial action and why he is supporting academic staff who have gone on strike this time around. Corbyn spoke for just over five minutes at the rally before he continued on his tour of the flood-hit communities of South Wales. He made clear that “this dispute by the UCU has [his] full support because university and college lecturers had been very badly treated” and that “what we’ve seen over those few years has been an attack on wages and conditions and has damaged our whole higher education and further education sector. “This dispute is about the need for decent pay and conditions and also about the need to protect pensions and to ensure that all new entrants to university and college employment have access to a decent pensions scheme and above all it’s about how we treat higher and further education workers across the UK. “We just fought the general election campaign with the determination to redistribute power and wealth and to give real opportunities all across the UK, the ability to go to university in England without debts of £60,000 and the ability to enjoy your time at university.” He closed his message by noting that “we stand here in the tradition of many others demanding all of that and I am proud to give you that message and support on behalf of the Labour Party.” Other speakers were also in attend-
ance, comprised of various UCU members and academic staff. Following the strike rally last Thursday, Xpress Radio interviewed Andy Williams and Catherine Walsh, two UCU representatives and academic staff members at Cardiff University to speak about why UCU members have gone on strike for the third time in three years. “We are facing a perfect storm of problems in a crisis-hit higher education sector in the UK”, Williams said. Discussing pensions, Williams commented: “We are fighting for the right to retire with dignity”. Speaking about UCU’s other causes for the strike in protest against high workloads, casualisation, and the gender and ethnic pay gap, he also stated: “Not one of us doesn’t know someone who has left the [academic] profession entirely because of high workloads….and it’s a problem for students, being taught by these burned-out members of staff.” Additionally, he stated that the casualisation of contracts is a “cancer” in the higher education sector with thousands of staff being employed on “insecure”, fixed-term contracts. Talking about the success of UCU’s strike action, Walsh said that the previous strikes have been extremely successful, temporarily preventing changes to lecturer pension funds. But, this time, she admitted that the strikes are related to issues which “students are on the sharp end of.” Williams also expressed that UCU members are not “doing this lightly”. When asked about Students’ Union President Jackie Yip’s leaked email which stated that the current bout of strike action will prevent some students from being able to graduate at the end of this academic year and whether UCU can justify industrial action in light of this development, Williams said: “Strikes always have an effect on the people whose services are being disrupted by the strike action...If there were any other way we really wouldn’t be doing it. I’ve seen loads of colleagues in tears about the effects they’re having on students.” Continued on page 4.
Araith Corbyn: Estynnodd arweinydd Llafur ei gefnogaeth i aelodau’r UCU. Tarddiad: Tim Marsh
Streic UCU: Corbyn yn annerch rali gan aelodau’r undeb
Llion Carbis
Pennaeth y Gymraeg
R
oedd Jeremy Corbyn yn bresennol yn rali aelodau’r University and College Union wrth iddynt streicio am y drydedd
gwaith mewn tair blynedd. Mae’r streicio, a all arwain at Fawrth 13, yn ymwneud â sefydlogrwydd swyddi, cydraddoldeb, llwyth gwaith a thâl darlithwyr a staff academaidd. Yn ei araith, soniodd Corbyn am bwysigrwydd darlithwyr a’i wrthwynebiad
Gair Rhydd speaks LGBT+ History to Adrian Robson Month across and Huw Thomas Wales Aliraza Manji Head of Digital
L
ast week, Gair Rhydd Politics spoke to Huw Thomas, Leader of Cardiff Council and the Labour Group, and Adrian Robson, Leader of the Conservative Group at Cardiff Council, about their roles in the Council and the importance of local democracy. Huw Thomas gives readers an insight into the work he has undertaken as Council Leader and his thoughts on the UCU strikes, whilst Adrian Robson discusses the Council’s White Paper on transport and changes he would like to see in Cardiff. Turn to page 12 to read the full interviews. 12
Natalie Graham @Caerdydd Editor
W
e are currently in the midst of LGBT+ History Month, a campaign which aims to educate society on the issues that the LGBT+ community continues to face. This week, @Caerdydd’s Natalie Graham gives an insight into the history of LGBT+ History Month and Wales’ LGBT+ community across the years. This year’s campaign is dedicated to journalist and LGBT+ activist Lyra McKee, killed in Northern Ireland last year. To find out more about the campaign, turn to page 26. 26
i’r hyn mae e’n ystyried yn amodau gwaith gwael staff academaidd a defnydd cytundebau oriau sero gan brifysgolion y Deyrnas Unedig. Ewch i dudalen 8 i ddarganfod rhagor am ymweliad Corbyn a’r diweddaraf am y streic.
10
Cardiff Uni research smart cyber security Liv Davies Science Editor
C
ardiff University’s School of Computer Science and Informatics has developed a system to detect cyber attacks on smart devices. It has currently been tested on the Amazon Echo and Apple TV with an accuracy rating of over 90%. As smart devices are becoming increasingly susceptible to cyber attacks and the risk of people losing information rises, could the University’s research be crucial in preventing further attacks? Read more about Cardiff University’s research on page 24. 24