Students, university staff and union representatives joined forces outside Senate House on Friday (12/11), to protest against outsourcing plans at Cambridge.

The “Outsourcing Sucks” demonstration came after the University faced accusations of “salami slicing” and “union busting” over plans to outsource maintenance staff to private companies. Unite, a trade union, has warned that the first stage of outsourcing, reportedly involving the lift maintenance team, could take place by the end of this year.

Those with Unite flags were joined on King’s Parade by members and representatives of Unison and the Cambridge branch of the University and College Union (UCU). Also in attendance were campaigners from Cambridge Defend Jobs, Cambridge Defend Education, the Cambridge University Justice 4 Workers Campaign, and the Cambridge Marxist Society.

Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, also made an appearance at the demonstration, delivering a speech through a megaphone.

Signs and placards demanded that the University “keep staff in-house” and “don’t sell us down the River Cam”.

Rallying chants included “outsourcing sucks”, “the workers united will never be defeated”, and “outsourcing hurts us, we must defend the workers.”