Universities in May Day strikes – And more cuts

By Geoff Maslen. As national lobby group Universities Australia was calling on the federal government to rule out any further cuts to universities and students in this month’s federal budget, university staff staged industrial action on May Day in support of a new wage and conditions campaign. But both Universities Australia and the National Tertiary Education Union, which organised the strikes, work stoppages and protests, are alarmed at revelations by Prime Minister Julie Gillard on Monday of a new A$12 billion (US$12.4 billion) hit to the government’s budget, to be handed down on 14 May. Read more...