Students rally against university job cuts

UNIVERSITY OF SALFORD students and teachers came out in full force and high spirits as they battled against the university staff cuts.

Having suffered 218 job losses already in 2011, demonstrators gathered outside The Old Fire Station in Salford where they made feelings clear.

Protesters of all ages turned up with creative banners to chant outside the building where the Vice Chancellor was in a meeting: "No ifs, no buts, no education cuts," was their message.

Several members stood in front of the crowd to voice their support, including Paul Gerrard, who spoke on behalf of the 'The Socialist', and Andy Hamilton, the University and College Union representative for the area.

After showcases from the university's cheer-leading and musical groups, Vice Chancellor Martin Hall answered questions.

He attempted to justify the cuts by stating the university will now be receiving £3.5million less income per year from September onwards. 58% of the university's income is spent on funding staff, said the VC. 

He added: "There is no alternative other than to make staff cuts. We are getting less students coming to the university, there is therefore less students to teach. We need to get the staff to student ratio right."

When asked about any future protests Christina Kennedy, Vice President of the Salford Universities Student Union, said: "We've not got another physical action planned as of yet but it will probably be in the pipeline.

"We've been making an online campaign, we've got petitions online, and we've got surveys for students to tell us why staff are so important to them."

By Bryony Pearce