By Connor McElwaine 

Going into this year, Dundee Labour students had just two members and meetings were stuck to the ‘AOCB’ culture of minutes and agendas. We had tried recruitment, but to be honest we had nothing to really recruit people to.

Here I am with other enthusiastic organisers in the making at Movement for Change Intensive Training in Barnsley in November 2012

I was delighted to be given the opportunity through my trade union Community to attend the Movement for Change intensive training weekend last November. The weekend allowed me to hear from, and become friends with, activists not only from across the UK, but from the Labour Movement in Europe too. We were all organising to achieve change within our communities in different ways. To hear their personal testimony of what had motivated them to come to the training was truly a unique and profound experience in over six years of being a Labour member. The skills I learned, people I met, and my personal growth as an organiser in the making that the training allowed was essential in how I was to lead the action for pay justice at my university.

The weekend highlighted the importance in developing a personal narrative and equally the importance of understanding what made others motivated to achieve change. This seemed like the perfect way to start off our new year. Our initial meetings were therefore used to speak about what had brought us to join the Labour Party and displayed the wide range of social backgrounds and motivations that now existed within our campus society. Critically, through hearing each other’s stories, we were all convinced that the Living Wage was a cause worth advocating, agitating and organising for.

Building power through relationships

Through the use of role play scenario during the Movement for Change training, I found the importance of building relationships with a wide range of people truly striking. So we began our campaign by going round student halls and speaking with other students through societies we were involved with or taking the time while waiting on lectures to speak with people in our classes. Often it was small five minute conversations in which we expresses our own displeasure in studying at a university where 153 members of staff were paid below £7.45 per hour, and overwhelmingly students connected in some way with our vision of how the university should be run. Critically, we spoke to and built relationships with staff employed at the university who were paid below the Living Wage so that we had a joint campaign moving forward. In next to no time we had a petition with over 500 signatures and email addresses.

Something that stuck with me from the residential was the need for the continued development of the issue so as to reach and encapsulate the interest of as many people as possible. To do this I enlisted the help of local Labour elected members Jenny Marra MSP, Jim McGovern MP and Councillor Richard McCready who were asked to publicly pledge their support from which we managed to get our initial local newspaper coverage. Their political weight and recognition allowed for our actions to develop a stronger credibility and for our movement to become an issue for the whole of Dundee bursting free of any disorganised, ill-thought-out, student protest typecast. Our credibility as a movement and as force within Dundee was further enhanced by the support from our Rector who was able to secure us yet further media attention and for the issue to be firmly placed on university court members agendas.

From building a coalition of societies of all political beliefs and pressure groups including Oxfam and the feminist society – who were agitated by the highly disproportionate gender inequality amongst low paid workers – we had constructed enough support to get our traditionally conservative student union to pass a motion for its executive to be pushing university management at every opportunity to implement the Living Wage.

Developing a campaign strategy with Movement for Change

By building power through relationships, Dundee Labour Students were able to build and impressive campaign for the Living Wage

With the continued support of Kate from Movement for Change I was able to devise a campaign strategy that understood the underlying power dynamics within our university. This allowed for our agitation to be focused into constructive action which culminated in our public event on 30th April where speakers would press the case for the Living Wage and fun informal games would highlight the gross pay injustice that exists on our campus. The Principal, who had refused or ignored our previous invitations for meetings, was invited as we knew he was due to deliver training to library staff workers on that day. Unfortunately, he changed his diary and suddenly “Sorry, Mr Downes is not in Dundee on Tuesday” was the response from an increasingly flustered PA. With it being unfair for our event to go ahead without a Principal figure I decided that I would have to fill the gap, and donned the appropriate attire of a ‘fat cat’ complete with cigar and top hat. Even though people had exams and were revising, over 50 people attended our action: a wide range of students who we had built relationships throughout the year, and from numerous societies from all political backgrounds, but we all agreed on the Living Wage. Local radio stations, newspapers, and television all came down to cover the action, and you can read more about it here.

Media coverage from our action in April

Because of the range of people present and the press coverage, The Head of Press for the university came to the action and made a commitment to discuss the issue at the next university council meeting and to release a statement afterwards. We look forward to hearing what Principal Pete Downes has to say, and the campaign continues. With the help of the UNISON branch, our representatives on University Court and with aspects of the training that I had learned now passed to the next generation of campaign leadership, we will continue to press for – and win – a Living Wage for all members of staff at the University of Dundee.

Connor McElwaine first worked with Movement for Change on our intensive training weekend. Since then, he has built a strong leadership team and led a fantastic campaign on the Living Wage at Dundee University. There are still a few places on our next intensive training weekend in June – you can apply here.

Students at Dundee Unviersity are asking: “When will you meet us, Principal Pete Downs?”

Activists at Dundee University stepped up their efforts on 30 May to push Principal Pete Downs to commit to paying the Living Wage for the entire University Staff. At a meeting outside Dundee Student Union, where Principal Downs was invited to but cancelled his attendance, the student activists had students, union members, local Councillor Richard McCready and an MP Jim McGovern engage in games such as “Is Pete’s Price Right?” where action attendees were asked to guess how much people in different professions were paid in salary.

One of the Living Wage campaign leaders, dressed in a Fat Cat outfit but who happened to earn the same wage rate and bore a striking resemblance to Principal Pete Downes, Connor McElwaine said: “Currently there are 152 not paid a Living Wage which means they are living in poverty and we find this unacceptable.”

The rally on campus was attended by about 50 people who heard from speakers including councillors, union activists and students involved in the campaign

“The University could quite easily find the money to commit to a Living Wage. In most cases this would be a small increase in pay and it is a disgrace that a prestigious university like Dundee that had a surplus of over £6 million in last year can’t seem to get this done.”

The University has eventually set up a sub-committee to examine the Living Wage but for every month the sub-committee takes to discuss the Living Wage is another month that 153 families are trapped in pay poverty.

Another activist Amber Plumbly said: “It is really disappointing that our Principal didn’t show up to this meeting we’ve been trying to organise with him since November last year. Our university will play a key role in Dundee potentially being named UK City of Culture- it’s a disgrace that they cannot find the will to lift people out of poverty.”

The campaign has also received the support of Jenny Marra MSP and UK Labour Students. This support has allowed for significant press attention in the local press which has allowed the campaign to gather further legitimacy and supporters.

MP Jim McGovern said: “I fully support the student led campaign- a campaign which is fantastic in that students have united to push for better living standards not for themselves but the people who help them earn their degree. Applying the Living Wage is applying common sense. ”

The action was covered by the Courier and STV

Movement for Change has been working with the campaign in Dundee since last November.

Kate Talbot, Community Organiser with Movement for Change said: “This is a great example of people coming together to take action on an issue that matters greatly to them. It has been such an enjoyable experience working with and developing such a great bunch of activists”.

Dundee Labour Students Living Wage Campaign links to a broader demand for a Living Wage in the UK. Speaking to the Guardian last weekend Ed Miliband said: “The whole living wage idea has come up from the grassroots. It is an example of the kind of politics that I want.”

“If Pete Downs thinks we will walk away from this, he’s got another thing coming”, continued McElwaine.

The action recieved some good coverage. Read the story on the local Courier here. Local STV news were also there to cover the action. You can watch their piece on the rally here until 6pm 1 May, 2013 – the action is covered at 13 minutes.

Students at Dundee University are pushing their Principal to commit to paying the Living Wage

The Living Wage campaign at Dundee University has been running since the start of the year and has gone from strength to strength. Dundee Labour Students are finding it outrageous that 153 members of the University staff not paid a Living Wage with 113 of them being women. Movement for Change has been working with Dundee Labour Students all through the school year to help them get organised around this pressing issue.

The Campaign has received a lot of media attention and support from the public

From the beginning of the campaign, the students have been collecting signatures on a petition which now stands at 500 signatures. The campaigners have also been leafleting and petitioning public lectures, pushed for online publicity and sent multiple letters to the principal.

The campaign has also received the support of Jenny Marra MSP, Jim McGovern MP and Cllr Richard McCready. This support has allowed for significant press attention in the local press which has allowed the campaign to gather further legitimacy and supporters.

Even after all this support and publicity, Principal Pete Downs hasn’t agreed to pay the Living Wage to the entire University staff.

With momentum building behind the campaign, our Dundee activists are heading into next week with a meeting on the 30^th of April in the student union with Principal Downs from which the students will seek a pledge of implementation.

Hear Connor McElwaine, one of the leaders of the Living Wage campaign and our residential training attendee from last November, talk about the campaign and how Movemvent for Change has helped give it focus.

Find out more about the campaign on the Dundee Labour Students’ website and stay tuned for updates!

Movement for Change invites you to join Rachel Reeves MP and David Miliband MP in partnership with Labour Students, NUS and Unison for a Living Wage Parliamentary Reception.

As well as an exciting opportunity to celebrate a new generation of Community Organisers, this event marks the re-launch of Labour Students and Movement for Change’s Living Wage campaign for the new year.  It is being held to coincide with ground-breaking new research on the Living Wage from Queen Mary University and we are pleased that the author of that research, Professor Jane Wills, will be joining us.

Places are limited.  If you would like to join us please email to request a place.

7 November 2012

18:30 to 20:30

Room E, 7 Millbank, SW1

Over the past year, Movement for Change and Labour Students have run Living Wage trainings and actions at universities across the UK. In the process, we’ve secured the Living Wage for low-paid employees (equating to as much as a £1,750 per annum pay increase in one case), including at the largest university in the country. Meanwhile, Movement for Change’s team of Community Organisers is training and developing students in areas as diverse as Swansea and Guildford to continue the campaigns into the new academic year.

Here, former Movement for Change organiser and current Secretary of Labour Students Teddy Ryan shares his personal thoughts on what Movement for Change activists have achieved so far.

TEDDY:  The gulf between young people and politics has never been greater. The largest group of unregistered voters are those under the age of 25; the majority of those who are registered do not vote. Reversing that trend is a huge task for the Labour Movement and only by understanding the root of the problem can we begin to overcome it. Fundamentally, too many young people feel disconnected from politics and local political action is an alien concept to most.

The optimistic outlook for Labour is that with a renewed Labour Party under Ed Miliband, and with the Liberal Democrats discredited beyond repair, 2015 will see millions of young people turning to Labour as the party of hope and opportunity. The polls are good and internally we have more Young Labour and Labour Students groups than ever before, but the honest truth is that simply pushing Labour in front of the other two parties is not good enough. Rather than simply winning the fight over whether or not the Labour Party is a force for good, we must be prepared to have and win the argument that politics itself is a force for good. We must proactively demonstrate that young people are able to change their own communities through positive political action.

Over the past year, I’ve travelled the length and breadth of the country, visiting universities and Labour Clubs working on the Movement for Change/Labour Students Living Wage campaign. In a short space of time, students have demonstrated clearly that politics can make a real difference. By working with Movement for Change, Labour Students has proved that young people can take political action which goes beyond raising awareness and creating debate – they can change people’s lives.

With successes at Manchester, Kent and De Montfort as well as successful accreditation at LSE, the campaign is cause for celebration. However, the political energy within ongoing Movement for Change/Labour Students Living Wage campaigns must not be lost. Many active and growing campaigns exist and where there has been success the clubs there are now working on pushing the living wage beyond their campus.

I am proud of how the Living Wage campaign has made a difference. It helps us win the argument that political action can be a force for good in our communities. Over the next year, Labour Students and Movement for Change will continue the campaign, pushing it into the wider community.  In doing this, and continuing to campaign hard for Labour on the doorstep, Labour students will seek to win the wider argument that politics and political action should be embraced and not ignored by Britain’s youth.

Find out more about Movement for Change’s Living Wage work, and contact us to get involved.

Alexandra Kemp, Vice Chair of North-West Norfolk Labour Party, explains the rural context that led local Labour activists to build a strong local party through community organising – and win practical change in the process.

Norfolk Labour activists after a Movement for Change taster session

We wanted to create a new democratic space for Labour, more fluid, relational, intergenerational and inclusive, more family-friendly and racially diverse. We wanted to bring more power back to members and break a few unwritten rules. Firstly, we wanted to send out the message that you don’t have to be elected before you can campaign. That you can bring along children to Labour events too so there is real accessibility for parents and grandparents. That you are equally important however old you are and wherever you live. That your ideas are valued and you have the freedom to express them.

We wanted to take interactive political debate out to the remoter rural areas of the constituency where it didn’t exist and to make it fun to take part in and feel relevant and responsive. Every member in an isolated village can be a powerful ambassador for Labour in their own community. 80 year-old Labour members run local village halls but Labour invisibility leads to an assumed Tory hegemony. So we had to increase the involvement of Labour members beyond the usual core of public and party office holders in the main town and open out to Labour sympathisers and supporters. We were Refounding Labour in one of the toughest Tory safe seats in England, North-West Norfolk.

So last Summer we launched Political Discussion Events with a Free Lunch, or Meet, Greet and Eat Events. Welfare, the Economy and Fair Pay formed some of the debates. In November we were recognised with Labour’s East of England Best Practice Award. People decided to set up a Living Wage Campaign which had its first success within the first week. Kathryn Perera from Movement to Change came to speak.

From the start, we designed in new structures to encourage political engagement. Out went tables, pieces of printed paper and formalities of address in favour of seating in the round and less hierachy. Everyone speaks, there is always food and no visible agenda. The result is more eye contact and social interaction, people feel empowered to speak, there is a more relaxed feel. From Plato’s Symposium onwards, creative political discussion and food have always gone together.

We encourage the presence of lifelong members with a rich tradition of Labour involvement spanning most of Labour’s history who hold the key to village networks. Evening Labour meetings in the main town were out of bounds for most members in rural areas, particularly older members so we meet in the villages late on Saturday mornings for a two-hour meeting over lunch time and we offer lifts as public transport is usually out of the question. Events are free to encourage people to come whatever their means and venues are usually members’ homes to keep costs down. As lots of older members do not have e-mail or use it rarely, invitations are made over the telephone.

There has been a transition from towncentric to more village-focused member involvement, a new springboard for campaigning round the year not just at election-time and a wider age spread at meetings.

The Living Wage success came after a conversation with the Minister at the local Methodist Church after the Living Wage Launch and the new cleaner is now paid the Living Wage.

This is just the start of a new political voyage into awareness-raising and empowerment, a reinvention.

The countryside is the natural home for Labour. With low pay and low expectations in ex-farming areas, concentrations of older people increasingly reliant on social services, the NHS and public transport, children in poverty, young people looking for work, there is everything to gain.

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