UNISON members glowing mad over tuition fee hike join protest

UNISON members will be among those waving 9,000 glow sticks to symbolise government plans to hike up university tuition fees to £9,000, as part of student protests across the country tomorrow and Thursday.University staff, student nurses and other public sector workers, will join students in taking a stand against the savage plans during a series of regional rallies on the 8 December. On Thursday (9 December), UNISON members will be lobbying their MPs at Parliament, before a rally at the Victoria Embankment at 3pm. As it turns dark, the protestors will be waving the glow sticks.Christina McAnea, UNISON’s Head of Education, said:“It is a disgrace that poorer children will be put off from going to university, as higher education becomes the preserve of the rich.“Lib Dem MPs voting on the tuition fees on Thursday must dig deep into their consciences and stand by their pre-election pledge to vote against increasing tuition fees.“At the same time as hiking up fees, the government is cutting university jobs and services, withdrawing education loans, axing means-tested grants and making huge cuts to further education. The government is dealing out blows to students from all angles, but we will be backing them in their fightback.”