Category: motions

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UoN UCU Motions for 2025 UCU Congress

The following motions were passed with large majorities by members at the well-attended meeting on Wednesday 12th March.

Motions for Congress

1. Reporting back of NEC members to constituencies

Congress instructs the NEC to formulate rule change motions to ensure
the following:

  1. NEC members canvass opinions from branches and regions in their
    constituencies prior to NEC and NEC subcommittee meetings.
  2. NEC members produce a written report within two working weeks of
    NEC and NEC subcommittees to be circulated in the appropriate
    constituency.
  3. Appropriate mechanisms to be established by UCU to support
    circulation of reports from NEC members to constituencies.

Rule Change Motions for Congress

2. Change to Rule 16

Add new rule 16.5.1

Where National Congress or Sector Conferences do not meet during the times referred to in rule 16.5, the relevant National Congress or Sector Conferences must be recalled as soon as reasonably practicable to consider the motions submitted to the National Congress or Sector Conferences. Additional late and emergency motions can be considered at the recalled Congress or Sector Conference in line with rules 16.8 and 16.9.

Purpose:
To enshrine in rule that in the event of cancellation, Congress or Sector Conference need to be rescheduled. Rather than, as has happened when the rules were silent on the matter, motions disappear into a void in spite of the hard work submitting bodies undertook to compose them and the efforts of elected delegates to prepare to debate them.

3. Change to regional committee standing orders –
Environmental Representative

To Standing order 7 of the UCU Regional Committee Model Standing Orders, add ‘an Environmental representative’ after ‘a representative of members on casual contracts’

So the amended Model Standing Order 7 would read:

Treasurer, the Secretary and the Chairs and Secretaries of the sector committees, and for each sector, a representative of members on casual contracts, an Environmental representative together with such other Officers as may be deemed necessary.

Purpose:
The importance of environmental issues and the seriousness of climate change means that there should be an Environmental representative on regional committees. The rule change will add one.

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No Compulsory Redundancies at UoN!

Today’s well-attended members meeting centred around two sets of motions. The first motion passed with 96% in favour directs the branch to enter into dispute to combat the risk of compulsory redundancies.

Motion on UoN No Compulsory Redundancies

This branch notes:

  • The investment of £91.5m (including VAT) for purchase and base refit of Castle
    Meadow Campus (CMC);
  • Management’s admission that the sale of CMC in part or whole is currently being
    discussed, as this campus does not fulfil UoN’s needs;
  • After decades of neglect, UoN infrastructure is falling apart. The list of buildings in
    dire need of repair include the Sir Clive Granger Building, the Medical School and
    several Student Halls amongst others;
  • Due to the Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme in 2024, almost 300 colleagues
    already left UoN recently, resulting in an increase in workload for remaining staff;
  • Management’s current widespread use of ‘protected’ and ‘without prejudice’
    conversations in several parts of the university in an attempt to push people to leave
    the university based on spurious and non-existent performance criteria;
  • The ongoing capability mapping of APM staff, while our APM colleagues do their
    best to accommodate the additional work that is required in making Unicore fit for
    purpose;
  • Several people in school leadership roles have reported that they are being asked to
    reduce activities in their schools by 20 per cent. This seems to be happening right
    across the institution;
  • On Monday February 17, our Branch President wrote to the Vice Chancellor to ask
    formally if she could rule out compulsory redundancies this academic year and next.
    The following morning she replied making it quite clear that she was not prepared to
    rule out compulsory redundancies in either case.

This branch believes:

  • That while there is a challenging financial environment across Higher Education in
    the UK, the scale of the projected deficit at the University of Nottingham is due to
    ongoing local financial mismanagement, evidenced by infrastructure investment in
    excess of affordability and the spectacularly disastrous purchase of CMC;
  • That management continues with its failed top-down approach to decision-making
    overlooking existing expertise at UoN;
  • That management is currently moving towards a large-scale phase of compulsory
    redundancies;
  • That staff have lost trust in management as a result of the manufactured uncertainty
    causing significant levels of additional stress;

This branch resolves:

  • Not to accept any compulsory redundancies;
  • To declare an industrial dispute over the VC’s failure to rule out compulsory
    redundancies this and next academic year and to lay the groundwork for a ballot for
    industrial action unless the University agrees in writing to rule out compulsory
    redundancies in this year and the next.

No compulsory redundancies at UoN!

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Motion on Unite UCU Industrial Dispute and the BMSC

At its annual general meeting on 26 June, the UCU branch at the University of Nottingham registered its dismay about how UCU management has handled the industrial dispute with its staff organised within Unite. In full solidarity with Unite members, the following motion was passed by an overwhelming majority with no votes against and only a few abstentions.

Motion on Unite UCU Industrial Dispute and the BMSC

This branch notes:

  • Strong allegations about institutional racism within UCU expressed by Unite UCU and the Black Member Standing Committee (BMSC);
  • Concerns that workload for UCU staff exceeds safe levels and sickness absence rates are as high as 40%;
  • UCU’s breach of its recognition agreement with Unite by recognising an additional trade union;
  • Further equality related concerns affecting staff and members.

This branch believes:

  • That as a trade union UCU must be a model employer;
  • That UCU employees deserve a safe and healthy workplace, free from racism and other forms of discrimination;
  • That an ongoing industrial dispute is unacceptable for any trade union employer;
  • That the ongoing industrial dispute is highly disruptive to our union’s day-to-day functioning;
  • That the ongoing industrial dispute is damaging to our legitimacy when making claims to our own employers.

This branch resolves:

  • To express solidarity with Unite UCU and the BMSC;
  • To donate £500 to the Unite UCU solidarity fund;
  • To instruct branch committee to write to the General Secretary and President demanding in the strongest terms possible a swift resolution to the dispute in the interest of UCU staff as well as to the concerns expressed by the BMSC.
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Motions passed at 1st May 2024 members meeting: 1. academic freedom and UKRI, 2. motion for SHESC, and 3. on Standing with Palestine.

These motions were each passed by a large majority of members attending a meeting on 1st May 2024 having been circulated in advance by email. They are posted here for subsequent reference.

1. UoN UCU Branch Follow-up Motion on Academic Freedom and
UKRI

For consideration at the next General Members Meeting

This branch notes:

  1. The motion UoN UCU Branch Motion on Academic Freedom and UKRI which passed
    at Extraordinary General Meeting on Monday November 6, 2023.
  2. The outcome of the UKRI’s investigation into allegations against members of its EDI
    Advisory Group made by Michelle Donelan, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation
    and Technology being a full exoneration.
  3. That the Secretary of State has publicly retracted her accusations and compensation
    has been paid by the Government.
  4. That the basis for the allegations made by the Secretary of State was a policy
    document by a right-wing think tank.

This branch believes:

  1. That the outcome of UKRI’s investigation and eventual exoneration of the individuals
    concerned are a positive development.
  2. That this investigation, and the damage to the reputation of the individuals
    concerned, could have been prevented by a more robust UKRI response to alarmist
    ministerial intervention.
  3. That the UKRI’s announcement of the outcome of its investigation, while inviting the
    members of the EDI Advisory Group to reengage, should have gone further in
    defending the necessity and value of its EDI work and academic freedom.
  4. That the use of public funds to settle claims related to the Secretary of State is
    concerning.
  5. That these events show a worrisome trend of anti-intellectualism, anti-‘wokeness’,
    and faux concerns about freedom of speech driven by right wing think tanks who
    provide little transparency on their funding.

This branch resolves:

  1. To advise that UoN UCU members reengage with UKRI activities, events, peer
    review, and other voluntary roles they had been called to boycott per the prior
    motion.
  2. To encourage UoN UCU members in professional associations to continue to express their concerns collectively to UKRI.
  3. To support UCU campaigns to pressure UKRI, and other funders, on matters of EDI and academic freedom.

2. Motion for SHESC on 17 May 2024: Increase branches’ financial and budgetary awareness and skills

SHESC notes:

  • The growing number of HE institutions (HEIs) attacks on jobs, terms and conditions.
  • HEIs claim that the financial challenges are sector-wide.
  • UCU branches have successfully challenged compulsory redundancies.
  • Congress 2024 motions ROC4, ED1, HE22 among others.

SHESC believes:

  • Branch officers and activists require financial literacy to challenge job cuts and other savings plans.
  • Respective expertise in this area is available amongst members, UCU staff and external consultants.
  • While HE funding needs reform urgently, financial management in many HEIs is poor.

SHESC resolves:

  • To instruct HEC to establish an HE finances working group, drawing on expertise from members and UCU staff to support branches with analysis of financial statements and budgets.
  • To engage external consultants for specialist financial expertise upon request by a Branch.
  • To develop training on analysis of financial statements and budgets for branch officers and activists.

3. Motion on Standing with Palestine

This branch notes:

  • Our General Secretary Jo Grady’s email to members that Wednesday 1 May, UCU is
    supporting the workplace Day of Action for Palestine;
  • The ongoing ‘educide’ in Gaza, where Israel’s current military offensive has resulted in the destruction of many universities and schools and the killing of thousands of students, hundreds of teachers and support staff, and nearly 100 professors.

This branch believes: 

  • That as an education union we have to speak up and mobilise against Israel’s
    ‘plausibly genocidal acts’; 
  • That we have to stand in solidarity with the oppressed Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

This branch resolves: 

  • To donate £500 to Friends of Birzeit University (Fobzu; https://fobzu.org/), which
    provides scholarships to young Palestinians;
  • To donate £500 to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP; https://www.map.org.uk/).
  • To instruct the committee to explore affiliation with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) in line with the affiliation of the national UCU and report back to next members meeting in this respect; 
  • To demand from UoN management to provide institutional scholarships for Palestinian students and academic fellowships for staff similar to the support provided to students and staff from the Ukraine.
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Branch meeting 28th February 1-2pm and motion

The below email was sent to members on 22nd Feb, with initial notice for members of branch meeting circulated on 7th Feb.

Dear members

In anticipation of the Branch Meeting on Wednesday 28 February, 1-2pm, the message below promised that Branch Committee would circulate today any draft Branch motions proposed for this year’s UCU Congress. One motion has been proposed:

Reporting back of NEC members to constituencies

Congress instructs the NEC to formulate rule change motions to ensure the following:

  1. NEC members canvass opinions from branches and regions in their constituencies prior to NEC and NEC subcommittee meetings.
  2. NEC members produce a written report within two working weeks of NEC and NEC subcommittees to be circulated in the appropriate constituency.
  3. Appropriate mechanisms to be established by UCU to support circulation of reports from NEC members to constituencies.

If you wish to propose an amendment to this text, please email uonucubranch@gmail.com by Monday 26 February at 12 noon.

The motion will be voted upon, and Delegates to Congress will be elected, at the upcoming Branch Meeting. If you are interested to put yourself forward to attend as a Delegate, there is still time – the message below explains the how to nominate.

Zoom details for the Branch Meeting will follow.

In solidarity,

Tony

Tony Simmonds (UoNUCU Secretary)