Libraries - Sackings spark dispute
WORKERS, NOV 2005 ISSUE
The sacking of two librarians, Sue Small and Fujikko Kobyashi, from London's School of African and Oriental Studies, has sparked an unprecedented response within SOAS and across the wider academic community. The librarians were both specialists and managed the school's special collections covering China, Japan and Korea. (So much for Blair's injunction that we should learn from the Chinese.)
Over 400 members of Unison and the AUT demonstrated in Russell Square in early October and 18 senior academics have resigned their non-contractual roles, such as heading specialist research centres, in protest. This action has effectively made the whole of Chinese, Japanese and Korean studies non-functioning.
Graham Dyer, AUT president at SOAS, said, "This is academic vandalism by the management of SOAS. The demonstrations show how angry members are at the attempts to down-grade the library and dispose of long-serving members of staff". Sue Small, who had worked for SOAS for 25 years, was not even allowed to work her notice. Two other specialist librarians remain at risk of compulsory redundancy.
Senior staff have successfully demanded an extraordinary meeting of the SOAS governing body, and are organising a lobby to show the strength of their support. Several packed meetings of SOAS AUT have voted for a ballot on industrial action and notice has been served on SOAS of an intention to ballot.