Staff/Student Union Solidarity

Sydney University Nursing Cut Campaign

The work and potential of the Working Students Union Network is evident in the current campaign against cuts to Undergraduate Nursing at the University of Sydney.

Save Nursing @ Sydney

Sydney University has 858 training nurses. Those students and their staff had the shock of discovering on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald on 9 June that the University was seeking the Federal Government's approval to transfer all future undergraduate nursing places to Australian Catholic University and the University of Technology Sydney.

This news could not come at a worst time. The news came in the last week of semester, with Clinical placements and exams taking place over the next three weeks. In spite of this, the reaction of staff and students was to take immediate, and united action. Together, staff and students organised:

• A sit-in protest on June 11 at the Faculty of Nursing on Mallett St, Camperdown saw over 200 students and 50 staff stage a sit-in protest

• A protest in uniform outside Sydney Hospital by over 150 Nursing Faculty staff and students on Tuesday June 15, in the middle of Clinical placements and Exam preparation, to highlight the impact of these cuts on the community by undermining the status and resources of nursing
  

• Joint Petitions and letters have been created and circulated
  

• Media coverage generated by combined staff and student union work.
  

• Support gathered from a host of unions, community organisations, and politicians, such as the NSW Nurses Association

Whilst the campaign continues, and the outcome still uncertain, there are some useful conclusions to draw. The combined strength of staff and students energised the campaign, increasing the power, legitimacy and strength of the students and unions. Neither students or unions campaigning alone would have the same impact or force. Whilst a lot of improvisation has been apparent, the skills, communication channels and relationships that WSUN provide ensured that staff and student activists and officials involved prioritised united action and a co-ordinated and complimentary joint campaign.

A relationship of trust and support is building between students and unions through joint campaigns such as this. Let us hope that the energy of these campaigns continues to strength our movements and our power.

To find out more about WSUN, go to www.workingstudents.org.au, email workingstudents@labor.org.au, or contact:

Garth Williams 0408 441 492
Sydney Amanda McCormack
Nick Fernandez

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