Students Pass Motion to Support Rent Strikes at USI National Council

The Motion was proposed by USI Vice President for Campaigns, Michelle Byrne.

Following the success of Rent Strikes in the UK and emerging Rent Strike groups in Ireland, the national student movement have voted unanimously to support these campaigns focused on campus owned student accommodation in Ireland. A Rent Strike involves withholding rent in a form of protest of the cost of student accommodation, with the objective of a reduction of rent from on campus accommodation providers. 

Collective action and Rent Strikes have proven extremely effective thus far, victories include a £1.2 million rent cut at UK based colleges UCL and a 35% backdated rent cut at Goldsmiths, UK. 

USI Vice President for Campaigns, Michelle Byrne proposing the motion to support student Rent Strikes at USI National Council, November 2019.

USI Vice President for Campaigns, Michelle Byrne said:

“I’m delighted to see unanimous support from SUs around the country.

Supporting grassroots groups in running direct action campaigns that work towards the same ideals of the Break The Barriers campaign is vitally important. The campaign for a more affordable and accessible educational experience is something we all are fighting for and we should be supporting students who are taking radical action to achieve the same.”

 

On Saturday, 16 November, the Union of Students in Ireland will host Non-Violent Direct Action training in Trinity College Dublin at 2pm. This two hour training session is open to all students upon registration at bit.ly/usiNVDA. 

Find out more about the campaign to Break the Barriers to Higher Education here: usi.ie/breakthebarriers/