Wednesday 13 March 2019, 12pm – 1pm
Roger Stevens lecture theatre 11

Minutes and matters arising from previous meeting not elsewhere on the agenda

Including updates on gender pay claim and anti-casualisation claim

Request for reps in schools without reps.

Minutes agreed.

USS pensions: update on website, will have a members meeting about this soon.

IT: took to Senate and in discussion with HR

Timetabling: some departments resisting (successfully). Meeting with HR today.

Gender pay claim: claim submitted in August. Not had a diligent response form the university. First working group the university didn’t provide us with any data. We’re going to say we can’t meaningfully meet with them until they provide us that data.

Anti-casualisation claim: first negotiating meeting 26 March. Would like to organise some more anti-casualisation meetings before then, ideally next week. Recent media controversy about a job ad pulled, which was indicative of a culture of

Election of Congress delegates:

Dima Chami, Laura Loyola Hernandez, Chloe Wallace, Megan Povey, Arunima Bhattacharya. Reserves: Gabriella Alberti, Ben Plumpton, Tim Goodall.

Motion 1: Amend Congress Standing Order 18

Moved by Ben Plumpton, seconded by Nigel Bubb. Carried unanimously

Motion 2: Representation of migrants in UCU structures

Moved by Dima Chami, seconded by Lata Narayanaswamy.

Discussion around wording of point b: meeting agreed to allow committee to finalise the wording in such a way to encompass the views of members who don’t think Brexit is a policy which is racist and xenophobic in nature. Carried.

Motion 3: Rule change: Inclusion of migrant representatives in NEC

Motion 4: Rule change: To change the scheduling of National Executive Committee and Trustee elections to reflect the establishment of “migrant representatives”

Motion 5: Rule change: To include the mechanisms of nominations and elections of the migrant representatives with regards to Officer, Trustee and National Executive Committee nominations and elections

Motion 6: Rule change: Inclusion of migrant representatives in the Equality structures

Motion 7: Rule change: migrant members equality conference

Motions 3 – 7 moved by Laura Loyola Hernandez, seconded by Lata Narayanaswamy. Carried.

Motion 8: Fighting oppression

Megan Povey who proposed the motion had to give apologies as unable to attend. Moved formally by Alaric Hall, seconded by Lata Narayanaswamy, but questions were asked about the motion and Megan was not there to answer so the meeting agreed to remit the motion so Megan could propose it to a future general meeting.

Motion 9: Solidarity with branches facing redundancies

Moved by Jonathan Saha, seconded by Nick Efford. Carried.

Motion 10: New Immigration Bill

Moved by Gabriella Alberti, seconded by Maria Grazia. Proposed amendment by Jonathan Saha to add “/or” to the third resolution. Proposed amendment by Helen Finch to remove “victim” from the third resolution. Amendments carried, motion carried as amended.

Motion 11: Workload

Moved by Tim Goodall, seconded by Jonathan Saha. Concern raised that “research active staff” in principle 6 need to be broader. The meeting agreed to remit the motion to the committee.

Motion 12: Financial analysis working group

Moved by Jonathan Saha, seconded by Vicky Blake. Carried.

Motion 13: Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

Motion 14: Motion of boycott in support of outsourced workers at the central University of London

Motions 13 and 14 not taken as out of time. Meeting agreed that these should go on the next general meeting agenda.

Motion 1: Amend Congress Standing Order 18

UCU rule change motion for Congress 2019

Title of motion:

Amend Congress Standing Order 18

Text of motion

Delete “(subject to rounding up to the nearest whole number)”

Add at end:

“except where only a subset of the branches in a sector is eligible to vote on the topic under discussion, in which case the quorum shall be a fraction of 150 members proportionate to membership in that subset. Quora shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number.”

Purpose

To have a quorum for sector specific conferences on matters relating to a subset of the sector which is line with the membership of that subset.

Notes:

Current version of Standing Order 18

The quorum for National Congress shall be 150 members, and quotas for Sector Conferences shall be a fraction of 150 members proportionate to the membership of each sector (subject to rounding up to the nearest whole number).

New version of Standing Order 18 if our rules change is passed

The quorum for National Congress shall be 150 members. The quoras for Sector Conferences shall be a fraction of 150 members proportionate to the membership in each sector, except where only a subset of the branches in a sector is eligible to vote on the topic under discussion, in which case the quorum shall be a fraction of 150 members proportionate to membership in that subset. Quora shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number.

Proposed by the committee

Motion 2: Representation of migrants in UCU structures

Congress notes:

1. Migrants, defined as non-UK citizens, constitute a large demography within UCU’s membership
2. UCU’s structures currently do not represent migrants, thereby leaving them vulnerable to discrimination, harassment, surveillance and other forms of oppression

Congress believes:

1. All workers should be treated equally independent of immigration status
2. Anti-migrant sentiments are fuelled by policies such as Hostile Environment and Brexit which are racist and xenophobic in nature
3. There should be no place for targeted racism and legal discrimination within our sector
4. Only direct migrant representation can advance UCU policy and organising strategies on matters specific to migrant members such as mobility rights, visa fees, NHS surcharge, social security.

Congress resolves to:

1. Recognise migrant status as a protected characteristic under UCU Equality structures
2. Implement rule changes necessary to ensure the representational gap is closed
3. Ensure protection of migrant members is a priority for UCU

Proposed the committee (150 words)

Motion 3: Rule change: Inclusion of migrant representatives in NEC

Rule 18.11 Equality seats, after rule 18.11.3 and before 18.11.4 to include a two National Executive Committee seats for representatives of migrant members (which will include refugees and asylum seekers).

The amended rule will read:

18.11.4 There will be two National Executive Committee seats for representatives of migrant members, at least one of whom shall be a non-EU migrant member. Candidates for election to these seats must state they are a migrant member and can remain on committee for three years after receiving ILR.

With the implementation of this rule change, what was previously known as 18.11.4, 18.11.5 and 18.11.6 will now have read as follows:

18.11.5 There will be three National Executive Committee seats for representatives of women member of Higher Education Sector, Candidates for election to these seats must state that they are women in that Sector.

18.11.6 There will be three National Executive Committee seats for representatives of women member of Further Education Sector, Candidates for election to these seats must state that they are women in that Sector.

18.11.7 All members are entitled to vote in elections to the equality seats.

Purpose: To allow the recognition of UCU’s migrant members and recognise the particular needs and rights of this group in the National Executive Committee.

Proposed by the committee

Motion 4: Rule change: To change the scheduling of National Executive Committee and Trustee elections to reflect the establishment of “migrant representatives”

Rule 19.6 Eliminate “and” in the second sentence after LGTBQ+ members, and include “two representatives of migrant members” after “black members.” In sentence six change “18.11.4” to “18.11.5” and “18.11.5” to “18.11.6” before “for women members.”

The amended rule will read:

19.6 Biennial elections will be held for those seats described in Rules 18.11.1 to 18.11.4 for two representatives of disabled members, two representatives of LGBT+ members, two representatives of black members, two representatives of migrant members, for the seat described in 18.14.1 for representative of members in prison education, in those years when elections are not held for seats described in Rules 18.11.5 and 18.11.6 for women members.

Purpose: To establish the scheduling of National Executive Committee with regards to migrant representatives.

Proposed by by the committee

Motion 5: Rule change: To include the mechanisms of nominations and elections of the migrant representatives with regards to Officer, Trustee and National Executive Committee nominations and elections

Rule 20.5 To include after line eleven after “ix. Representatives of black members;” “x. Representatives of migrant members;” (now line twelve). Change the numbering in what will be line thirteen from “x.” before “Representatives of women members to” “xi.”). Change the numbering in what will be line fourteen from “xi.” before “Representatives of casually employed members;” to “xii.” Change the numbering in what will be line fifteen from “xii” before “Representative of members in land-based education” to “xiii.”  Change the numbering in what will be line sixteen from “xviii” before “Representative of members in prison education.” to “xix.”

The amended rule will read:

20.5 Ballots for election to offices that are to be taken up on the same date will be counted in the following order:

i. Trustee;

ii. General Secretary;

iii. Vice-President;

iv. Honorary Treasurer;

v.  Geographically-elected HE and FE members;

vi. Representatives of disabled members;

vii. Representatives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGTB+) members;

ix. Representatives of black members;

x. Representatives of migrant members;

xi. Representatives of women members for HE and FE Sectors;

xii. Representatives of casually employed members;

xiii. Representative of members in land-based education;

xix. Representative of members in prison education.

and after a candidate is successfully elected, votes for that candidate will be disregarded in subsequent elections.

Purpose: To reflect the changes made to rule 18.11 and establish mechanisms of nominations and elections of the migrant representatives with regards to Officer, Trustee and National Executive Committee nominations and elections.

Proposed by the committee

Motion 6: Rule change: Inclusion of migrant representatives in the Equality structures

23.1 Change the word “four” in line one for “five.” Include “v. Migrant Members’ Standing Committee (MMC)” in what will be line seven.

The amended rule will read:

23.1 Under arrangements set out in Standing Orders, there shall be five National Standing Committees:

i. Black Members’ Standing Committee (BMC);

ii. Disabled Members’ Standing Committee (DMC);

iii. LGBT+ Members’ Standing Committee (LGBT+MC);

iv. Women Members’ Standing Committee (WMC;.

v. Migrant Members’ Standing Committee (MMC).

Purpose: To allow the recognition of UCU’s migrant members as an equality group with particular needs and rights. This will allow Migrant members to have representation in the Equality conferences and help advice and make recommendations to the NEC on issues specific to the members who they represent.

Proposed by the committee

Motion 7: Rule change: migrant members equality conference

23.2 Change the word “four” for “five” in line one and in line two.

The amended rule will read:

23.2 Under arrangements set out in Standing Orders, there shall be five Annual Equality Conferences (one for each of the five Equality Groups), chaired by a National Executive Committee member and subject to a mechanism for determining a maximum size plus the appropriate National Executive Committee equality member(s), the General Secretary and Officers ex-officio. The National Equality Conferences are freestanding and will each elect representatives to their respective National Equality Standing Committees.

Purpose: To reflect the recognition of UCU’s migrant members as an equality group with particular needs and rights. This will allow Migrant members to have representation in the Equality conferences and help advice and make recommendations to the NEC on issues specific to the members who they represent.

Proposed by by the committee

Motion 8: Fighting oppression

This branch recognises:

1. Modern oppression is rooted in capitalist class relations which divide and weaken workers’ resistance to exploitation and oppression. All oppressed groups and individuals, of whatever class, deserve solidarity from trade unionists.
2. Clear evidence of growing oppression after a decade of austerity – on women, Muslims, BAME, migrants, disabled, Jewish and trans people for example.

2. We’ve seen recent incidents of institutional oppression in education. The growth of the far-right here and elsewhere is exacerbating the situation.

This branch:

1. Celebrates UCU’s work in tackling endemic social and institutional oppression and in training and educating members to address these issues.
2. Resolves to update and reissue UCU educational material on anti-Semitism etc.
3. Notes many people are multiply oppressed and rejects the notion of a ‘hierarchy of oppression’, or that one group’s claims to rights trump another’s.

3. Believes that the centrality of class must underpin all UCU’s Equality work.

Proposed by Megan Povey (150 words)

Motion 9: Solidarity with Branches facing Redundancies

The meeting notes:

1. The recent threats to jobs at the universities of Bangor, Birkbeck, Cardiff, Exeter, Gloucester, Keele, Kent, Leeds Trinity, Queen Margaret, Plymouth, Reading, Royal Holloway, Sheffield Hallam, SOAS, Surrey, UCL, Wales Trinity St Davids and Wolverhampton, all of which follow proposed redundancies last summer at Leicester, London South Bank, Portsmouth and Bradford;
2. The spurious management rationale provided in an attempt to justify these proposed job cuts;
3. The security afforded to staff at the University of Leeds by the “Organisational Change Policy”.

The meeting resolves:

1. To extend solidarity to all branches facing redundancies;
2. To conduct research locally into the financial health of the University of Leeds in order to counter any similar proposals from management in the future;
3. To maintain the current safeguards contained within the “Organisational Change Policy” against job losses.

 Proposed by the committee

Motion 10: New Immigration Bill (as amended by general meeting)

This branch notes that:

With less than three weeks before the planned Exit of the UK from the European Union there is no clarity of how the UK will leave, with potentially dramatic consequences for all workers and their families in the UK economy.

This protracted limbo is having particular detrimental consequences on the livelihoods of EU workers and their families, who are under great distress given the ongoing uncertainty in several areas of their civil, social and economic rights.

That UK workers in Europe as well as the mobility rights of UK workers in the UK are also suffering great uncertainty.

The branch also notes that:

• On the 29th of  September 2016 the Leeds UCU branch voted unanimously in favour of the Free movement motion, where the local association resolved to campaign for free movement of labour and opposition to the Points-Based Immigration Scheme (i.e. the Hostile Environment); campaign for an up-front guarantee for existing EU/EEA citizens in the UK to stay; campaign for protection for EU research funding and EU students; campaign for full recognition of workers’ rights throughout EU withdrawal negotiations, including for non-academic staff; promote planned solidarity activity with non-EU colleagues at campus level to demand improvement of immigration support for all non-UK staff.
• That a similar motion was passed by several branches and by the UCU Congress in 2017.
• That the proposed New Immigration Bill, currently going through the committee stage in the House of Commons, will end the free movement rights of EU nationals into the UK and extend the Hostile Environment to EU nationals.
• That in a no-deal scenario, EU citizens arriving in the UK after that date would not be able to apply for settled status. Indeed it is unclear which visa rules EU citizens will come to the UK under between 30 March 2019 and 1 January 2021 since the “Home Secretary reserves the power to repeal free movement law in the UK by amending primary and secondary legislation, on a day appointed by regulations” (Clause 1 of the Bill).
• That the White Paper included in the Bill outlining the substance of the new immigration rules will impose harsher conditions on all migrants coming from outside the UK, further tightening the financial and skills requirements to obtain an employer sponsored visa (e.g. 30,000£ trenshold).
• That the current Settlement Scheme for EU nationals who are already living here is producing new inequalities within the EU migrant population in the UK by introducing differential treatment between those who obtain settled, those who obtain temporary (pre-settled) status and those coming after Brexit day-who will be allowed to stay only for 3 months and then become undocumented.
• That hate crime against EU as well as non-EU nationals, Muslim and Black Britons, had critically  increased since the Brexit referendum fuelled by media and politicians’ anti-immigrant discourse, showing the wider racist implications of Brexit.

-The branch believes, and endorse the statement made by the Labour campaign for free movement that:

• Migrants are not to blame for falling wages, insecurity, bad housing and overstretched public services. These are the product of decades of underinvestment, deregulation, privatisation, and the harshest anti-union laws in Europe. On the contrary, migrant workers have been on the front line of fighting for better pay and working conditions.
• A system of free movement is the best way to protect and advance the interests of all workers, by giving everyone the right to work legally, join a union and stand up to their boss without fear of deportation or destitution. Curtailing those rights, or limiting migrants’ access to public services and benefits, will make it easier for unscrupulous employers to hyper-exploit migrant labour, which in turn undermines the rights and conditions of all workers.

The branch resolves:

-To campaign and lobby against the passage of the New Immigration Bill

-To join the existing campaign against the New immigration Bill, to defend and extend free movement for all workers coming from outside the UK

-To protect any non-British worker from racist behaviour and/or hate crime independently of their ethnicity, nationality or skin colour

-To strongly support migrant members’ voice and grievances in our union structures

Proposed by Gabriella Alberti

Motion 11: Workload

This meeting notes:

• The increased workload of academics and academic-related staff at the University of Leeds
• The wide range of workload models across the university

This meeting resolves:

• To use the ‘workload principles’ document to negotiate more consistent principles for workload calculation and workload policy implementation across the university

Workload Principles – minimum standards

1.         Academic and academic-related staff are professionals and must have scope to manage their own time.

2.         Workload is a health and safety issue.

3.         Transparency is essential – this means we should be able to see colleagues’ allocation. Assumptions and criteria for calculation should also be transparent.

4.         Staff should not have to work excess hours for normal progression and promotion.

5.         All members of academic and academic-related staff should be entitled to protected time for scholarship of at least 0.2 or one day over the week.

6.         Research active staff should have a minimum of 2 days per week for research.

7.         Administrative roles must have a realistic allocation of hours.

8.         Teaching should be allocated on the basis of a multiplier of contact hours. This multiplier would vary, depending on whether other factors are counted as part of the contact hours formula or are counted on top. Examples of factors that might be counted separately are level of support, marking, class size, probationary status, new teaching module co-ordination and repeat teaching.

9.         A model and any subsequent significant changes would be subject to negotiation with UCU.  There needs to be a process for (a) agreeing changes to hours given to admin roles and (b) reviewing the model every few years to ensure that it still works.

10.       No weight should be given to outputs or esteem.

11.       It is accepted that there may be fluctuations. Significant excess load in one year should be rectified by a reduction in the following year.

12.       Where a staff member is a union representative, an allowance will be made in the workload model for trade union duties.

13.       Where a staff member is a health and safety representatives, an allowance will be made in the workload model for health and safety duties.

14.       Citizenship should be 0.2 FTE.

15.       Workload analysis and allocation requires a participatory and dialogical approach. They need to be based on the real life situation and not theoretical assumptions, e.g. about availability of staff and functioning of technology including websites.

Proposed by the committee

Motion 12: Financial Analysis Working Group

Leeds UCU notes

1. Increasing waves of redundancies and restructures involving job losses and downgrading, across the sector
2. Frequent deployment of narratives emphasising language of “risk” without due recognition of expenditure connected to capital loans funding “shiny buildings”, estate expansion, etc
3. University of Leeds’ “spending” on depreciation and interest payments have almost doubled as a percentage of income 2014-18
4. Depreciation is recorded as “expense” on profit/loss accounts
5. Importance of critical analysis and investigation of publicly available data in recent UCU campaigns, including pensions, to expose and critique faulty arguments from HE SMTs

Leeds UCU agrees to set up a financial analysis working group to:

1. Analyse publicly available university financial data
2. Investigate sources of real and claimed risks or problems with university finances
3. Produce reports and recommendations for Committee approval / dissemination
4. Support and promote wider understanding of financial risk narratives connected to financial planning and associated narratives from the University SMT
5. Investigate and promote disinvestment by the university from ethically and environmentally unsound investments.

Proposed by the committee

Motion 13: Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

The University and College Union (UCU) is deeply concerned about the grave threat that nuclear weapons pose to communities throughout the world. We firmly believe that all peoples have the right to live in a world free from this threat. Any use of nuclear weapons, whether deliberate or accidental, would have catastrophic, far-reaching and long-lasting consequences for people and the environment. Therefore, this Congress of the UCU warmly welcomes the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons by the United Nations in 2017 and calls on the UK government to join it.

Proposed by Hugh Hubbard

Motion 14 Motion of boycott in support of outsourced workers at the central University of London

Background

This branch notes that outsourced workers at the central University of London* have been campaigning since September 2017 to end outsourcing and be made direct employees of the university. This campaign has the support of the vast majority of the outsourced workers at the University of London demonstrated by the fact that in April 2018 they held the largest outsourced workers’ strike in the history of UK higher education.

This branch further notes that outsourced workers, the majority of whom are migrant workers or BAME, suffer from far worse terms and conditions than the majority white British colleagues that are directly employed by the university. They are also far more likely to suffer from bullying, discrimination and unlawful deduction of wages.

This branch further notes that almost a year after the University of London began its facilities management review (November 2017) outsourced workers are still in limbo, waiting to be given a clear timetable under which they will be made direct employees. In this period they continue to suffer under a regime of structural discrimination, where they are vulnerable to unfair and ill treatment.

This branch further notes that the university has ignored all calls by the workers to go into substantive negotiations with them and the union that represents the vast majority of the outsourced workers, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain. Consequently, the workers have been excluded from the University of London’s facilities management review, a review that would have a significant impact on the work they do and on their terms and conditions.

Rather than engage with the workers, the university has opted for strong arm tactics to try and break their campaign, employing dozens of strike breakers and extra security, at a significant cost. 

This branch therefore resolves to:

1. Organise a boycott of University of London central administration (including Senate House Senate House, Stewart House, the Warburg, the Institute of Historical Research and the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies) until the outsourced workers’ demands are met and they are brought in-house. The boycott will require members to not organise or attend events at these buildings.
2. Inform members of the boycott and the reasons behind the boycott of University of London central administration (including Senate House, Stewart House, the Warburg, the Institute of Historical Research and the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies).
3. Support the motion to this effect being brought to the next UCU conference.

* comprising the central academic bodies & administrative functions based at Senate and Stewart House, the Warburg Institute, the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and the University of London Halls of Residence BUT EXCLUDING the colleges of the federal University.

Proposed by Charles Umney
Motion was submitted in good time but accidentally left off the published agenda

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This page was last updated on 14 January 2020