THE „,... cR OF IMPERIAL COLLEGE UNION Crisis in College company forces takeover Tube strike hits exams Imperial College Union has prepared emergency measures to Biotech buyout help students taking exams if the threatened 24 hour tube strike by the National Union of Railwaymen Imperial Biotechnology, partly (NUR) goes ahead.The College has owned by Imperial College and a made similar plans for members of world leader in the fast expanding staff. Bacterial products market, is to be The strike was announced on taken over by an Austrailian Wednesday when negotiations company. Five years of world class between Unions and Management award winning, academic research over proposed changes in staffing are likely to pass out of British and promotion for the bus and hands. underground services broke down. Burns Philp are to take over Bus services should run normally Imperial Biotechnology Limited on Monday but a series of one-day (IBL) by the end of the month, if IBL stoppages on every second Monday shareholders approve. The move from May 15 is threatened will aleviate cash flow problems depending the result of yesterday's within IBL which have resulted in ballot. the company making an operating Some departments will be loss of % of a million pounds last rescheduling examinations and plan year. to inform students of any changes A letter has been circulated to IBL that are made whilst others are shareholders detailing Burns Philp's IBL's fermentation unit, once owned by IC considering allowing students to intention to 'buy out' IBL. Imperial sleep overnight. In some cases the college, the second largest starting time of examinations will be shareholder, has already announced sav that they have reached an delayed with a greater leniancy for its intention to sell its 88,473 shares, agreement with IBL to pay back the late-comers. The College say that worth an estimated £600,000. money in monthly instalments of FELIX Savs individual departments will keep Imperial Biotechnology was set up £30,000. students informed of the changes. five years ago to research and College Secretary, John Smith, a This is a black day for British The Students' Union plan to market enzymes for the food member of the IBL's Board of Technology. Britain has once again provide an minibus service for those industry. The company took over Directors told FELIX that company given away one of its leading students affected. The service will redundant fermentation units in the had performed badly because the technologies to a foreign competitor. be available for the duration of the Biochemistry Department and was market had been slow to adapt to It is a sad indictment of ten years strike for students who register with given office space at a nominal rent new products/The sales before of Thatcherism that British firms are the Union Office before 2.00pm in return for shares in the company. Christmas were very good' he said unwilling to invest in an area of today. The company has been making a 'but they tailed off in January, research which has so much In addition, the Green and Brown loss for some time. College Finance February and March.' commercial potential. Committee rooms in the Union Officer, Malcombe Aldridge told Burns Philp bought a large The Australians have been quick Buiding will be set aside for use as FELIX 'the Company is not number of preferential shares in to realise the possibilities of a 'crash pad' on Sunday and insolvent in a technical sense, but if December of last year in conjunction biotechnology one of the most Monday evenings. it continues with its present staffing with Investors in Industry and rapidly developing industries. Union President Nigel Baker levels it will need additional capital Protein Technology. The deal was The market is not yet ready to commented 'there are showers for before much longer.' said to be worth Vi million to the accept the techniques developed by men and ladies in the gym loos.' He He added 'We've allowed them Company. Imperial Biotechnology and this has added that the Union Snack Bar fairlv soft credit. Its not in our IBL have recently been awarded resulted in an uphill financial would be available for meals as interests to put them over the trunk' the DTI Small Firms Merit Award struggle for the company. usual but warned students to bring Sources within College say that for Research and Technology. The But when the market place does their own sleeping bags. the company owes Imperial award will pay for 75% of the costs catch up, those British investors The College has sent a circular to £150,000 in wages for the eight of research into the way enymes can who refused to back the company members of staff urging them to technical staff who operate the be used to speed the maturation in its recent attempts to raise more 'make every reasonable effort' to fermentation unit. The College now process of Cheddar Cheese. capital will be left in the cold. cont. on back page ISSUE 834 5 MAY 1989 Letters Having chosen to spend most of this vear prices or welfare. And what about homophobia? treating ICCAG, and presumably other clubs, in It may be legal now (homosexuality, not AUT Response this high-handed manner it is too much to expect homophobia that is) but you try telling the police us to come running back with articles just because that. Again where is ICU? you have decided that FELIX is looking a bit thin It is up to students to mobilise to bring these and needs some more pages whilst your regular issues into the open, yes even IC students. To Richard Spencer and Charles Brereton. ' contributors get their revision done. Hillsborough again showed the Police in their You have to make up your mind on clubs* true colours, an instrument of oppression. Where 1 have been urged bv members of mv Association articles and not expect clubs to put a lot of effort i^ 1CL'?—at home looking after its own. to respond publicly to vour letter concerning the and time into a submission only to be told that )'our>. AUT action on examinations, which was it won't be printed or that they must spend more James Nathan, Mech Eng 1. addressed to members of academic staff in the time and effort collating for vou. So do vou want College. them or not? The decision to withdraw from the examination Yours sincerely. process is a serious action which has never been Alistair Goodall, taken before in the history of the AUT. It is seen ICCAG Publicity Officer. bv members as a last desperate measure to Satire lives PS. Wouldn't it be awfully funny if you came up persuade the CVCP to listen to our demands. You with some witty heading to this letter such as may be interested to hear that the action has Boring, or even better don't print it due to lack finally had the effect of extracting an offer. On of space. Dear Bill. 26 January the CVCP made an offer of 3% to AUT 1 low wonderful it is to see that the art of satire from April 1989 and a lump sum equal to 3% from I'm sorry to hear that you have had problems is not vet dead. That truly inspired piece 'Jesus January to March 1989. The CVCP themselves with your articles, why don't you call in and Votes Tory' (issue 833) should be regarded as an admit that the figure is derisory and the AUT are discuss it with me—I don't bite. Most of the the all time classic and its author Dylan James (is that awaiting a more sensible offer. As soon as the problems have arisen because we have been a pseudonym?) placed in the satirists' hall of fame CVCP can make an acceptable proposal the action lacking a Clubs editor for the past term. alongside such people as Swift and Stoppard. will be called off and the examination process will Just for the record. Yes, we do ask people to This beautifully crafted piece combined all the be recovered very quicklv. collate particularly if they submit late articles. cliches and false truths beloved of those on the My colleagues are therefore questioning whv I do not consider this unfair because many of far right with the bland unthinking rhetoric of the vou are not writing to our Rector over this matter. our regular staff stay up until the early hours of worst of the evangelists and yet was so over the The Rector is a member of the CVCP and it is to the morning on a regular basis to collate FELIX. top that it had to be regarded as a joke. Just think! him that representations should be made, to urge This is in addition to the work they put into If 'Mr James' really believed all that he had the CVCP to make an acceptable offer to the AUT writing and laying out FELIX during the week, written, it would be frightening. Perfect Satire! as soon as possible. We were recently told by the consderably more effort, I might add than it Yours faithfully. Rector that the projected accumulated deficit for takes to write a clubs article. Do you really think lason Lander. Imperial College, indicated in the financial plan, it unfair that we ask clubs who benefit from now amounted to about a million pounds. In the regular articles in FELIX to put something back circumstances the Rector could not support an into the paper occasionally? increase above the 3% offered.