UWS workers slugged for going to work

Employees and students today will hold a protest rally over the decision of University of Western Sydney to introduce parking fees on five campuses where previously there was no fee.

The university is also increasing parking fees for areas which already had fees.

Staff and students are furious. They see this as an exercise in targeting them as a revenue source.

Staff and students demonstrate at noon outside the meeting of the UWS Board of Trustees meeting. They will demand that the decision be withdrawn.

The protest rally is being organised by Community & Public Sector Union (CPSU) which is the General Staff Union for Universities.

CPSU has been campaigning around this issue for a considerable time, including organising a petition signed by hundreds of staff and students, organizing a e-mail/fax flood last Monday to give the Vice Chancellor the staff/student opinion (something the university didn't care to find out beforehand).

Those unable to attend today's rally are urged to "honk their horns" at 1pm. This will be across all campuses of the university.

Cars are the major form of transport for UWS staff, students and visitors. Public transport is utterly inadequate.

The decision to introduce fees and increase others was done without consultation. For many with existing parking permits it is a breach of an agreement. They were issued with parking permits valid until 2007. Suddenly they are invalid.

"The staff were offered nothing to compensate for this imposition - it's just another hand in their pockets", says Shabnam Hameed, the CPSU Organiser for UWS matters.

Today's rally is at noon at the Penrith North campus, Werrington, outside Building AD.