The Committee for Public Education (CFPE) and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) held a public meeting last Sunday opposing mass job cuts at Australian universities and a broader assault on public education, extending to the schools.
The speakers detailed the destruction of 3,500 jobs at universities across the country over the past 10 months, with many more slated to be axed. They explained that this was part of a further transformation of the sector, being spearheaded by the federal Labor government, and aimed at subordinating it even more directly to the needs of the corporations and the military.
They placed this offensive in its global context. David Rye, an educator and socialist from the US, outlined the brutal crackdown on free speech, including at campuses, being presided over by the fascistic US President Donald Trump.
The meeting raised the need for educators to form independent rank-and-file committees, in opposition to the corporatised unions that cover education, which have facilitated the gutting of jobs. The speakers connected this to the necessity for a socialist movement of the working class, directed against the source of the plunge into dictatorship, mass poverty and war: the capitalist system. The full video of the meeting can be viewed here.
WSWS reporters spoke to several attendees afterwards.
An academic at Western Sydney University (WSU) said, “I came to the meeting because I like the work that the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) is doing. It’s very important.”
The educator expressed appreciation for the remarks of Mike Head, a longstanding CFPE and SEP leader and a WSU academic. Head had exposed the role of the National Tertiary Education Union in ramming through a sellout agreement at WSU last month, facilitating the destruction of over 100 jobs.
The academic said: “The points made by Mike on forcing a contract on staff were important. It is unclear what will happen next year. It’s very uncertain. I am not involved with the union, so I don’t follow closely what they do.
“At university, they push us to attract industry funds, and they do not encourage critical thinking in students. It shouldn’t be about job training all the time! The university is pushing ‘Job Ready Graduates.’ Money makers, without thinking.”
They added: “The points made by David Rye from the US were striking. Normally, there is an attack on Muslims. But now they are coming after anyone who is speaking out against Zionism, or against war.
“People know something is happening in Palestine which is not right. The people in the US know that their taxes are paying for this war. Australians aren’t paying so directly, but are still involved in this war because Australia is supporting Israel.
“The US is the big brother for Australia. We have seen how [Australian Prime Minister Anthony] Albanese deals with Trump. Trump is the King and Albanese is the follower. Albanese has policies like Trump, he is in that bloc.”
Amanda, a primary school teacher in Melbourne who has taught in several schools in working-class suburbs for more than 25 years, attended online. She said: “The meeting covered really well the status of education in the context of world politics and the fascist Trump.
“The current conditions in schools are appalling. Teachers in Australia are the second-most stressed in the OECD because of the pro-business agenda.
“With the ongoing budget-cutting, education is now lacking the resources required for quality education, and funding for additional needs students is getting worse. Educational Support staff are low paid, but work with challenging students without the resources required to support the classroom teachers.
“There have been vast changes to the curriculum dictated by government, and it is not kid friendly and is further driving down student engagement. This comes about with the teaching skills agenda; instead of developing the person fully, it is simply the education system training young people for factory and munitions jobs for the future. Educational processes aimed at developing well-rounded young people are not there anymore.”
Amanda stated that the education unions “work with government to help implement the ongoing cuts to education funding and support.” She expressed support for the fight to build rank-and-file committees, commenting, “It’s important to step outside of the straitjacket of the unions, to represent the rank and file independently. We have to build groups that can fight for the real needs of workers.”
A primary school teacher from regional Victoria had explained in the meeting chat that she recently left the profession, after 35 years, due to a lack of support.
She said the meeting “was important and I am very concerned about the transformation of education to meet the war economy. The building up of the military has had a definite and drastic effect on education. The push for students to get degrees by joining the military scares me. We need more scientists and mathematicians but the drive to dictatorship by Trump will not allow this to happen.
“It takes money to teach children well, but we are pushing teachers to the point that we can’t do that anymore. Everything is about the drive of the rich to accumulate riches at the expense of education, health and everything else that we need. There are a handful of them and many of us. We can and must make changes to this situation.”
Dylan, a WSU student, said: “The money that Labor is cutting from public universities, along with public schools, and other social spending, is going towards an ever increasing bloated military budget. This is because, ultimately, the west is preparing for war.
“There is a connection, not just between Australia and America but globally. The Labor Party and the UK Labour Party are both cutting social programs and bolstering the military.” Albanese was “content to grovel” before Trump “for the sake of nuclear-powered submarines and the AUKUS relationship.”
Dylan said: “The current actions of unions across the world has shown us that they are ultimately not going to effect any real, meaningful and long-lasting change. Even worse, the result of their efforts has resulted in confusion, and a feeling of defeat in the working class. The only solution to the issue at hand, and all political issues we face, is the banding together of workers to form their own independent workers’ organisations that function at the behest of the rank and file, not union leaderships.”
Gabrielle, a TAFE student, said that “Despite all the mechanisms of militarisation of the youth and suppression, still we’re seeing an upsurge of anti-war opposition, especially in relation to Palestine. That shows that these mechanisms are not working.”
She added: “The conditions within which they’re working are forcing teachers to quit. It’s making it incredibly difficult for them just to teach children, let alone support their complex needs. But again, in spite of that there’s growing opposition and a desire to fight.”
Ethan, a young worker, was previously studying history at university, but decided to go into the workforce. With a US background, he was particularly animated by the analysis presented at the meeting of the political crisis in America.
“There is a genuine desire in America for social change and they’re not getting it from Republican ideologues and they’re not getting it from Democratic bureaucrats. There’s a desire for change, and America is one of the imperial countries I think suffering most from this crisis.
“We’re in the middle of one of the longest shutdowns in American history. People are going without pay, without foodstamps, they’re starving. Consumer debt is at an absolute all-time high. Car repossessions are at an all-time high. The market capitalisation of the stock market compared to GDP is at an all-time high. The majority of GDP growth is being funded by AI, which is a massive bubble.
“Not to mention the more physical violence that’s being inflicted. The violence is no longer abstract or indirect; it’s becoming physical, deadly violence.
“I think there’s a need for concrete action to build organisations outside of the traditional capitalist structure. There’s a need to get serious about socialism.”