Sector conference notes:

• Endemic:
  • discrimination, bullying, boundary crossing and sexual violence within and between institutions.
  • abuse of early career researchers including plagiarism of ideas by academics in secure staff positions, encouraged by funder’s recommending seniors lead on early career ideas.
• Institutional policies protecting staff who abuse collaborators from other institutions.

Sector conference believes:

• The right to freedom from abuse at work is universal.
• Abusers should not be immune to claims from outside their institution.
• Cross-sector policy change will produce culture change, reducing discrimination and abuse.
• Sector conference resolves:
• HEC to pursue shared policy across HE to handle cross institutional misconduct.
• UCU to negotiate with employers for policy change protecting collaborators from other institutions.
• UCU to lobby for funders to start independent investigations within 3 months of institutions not taking sufficient action, and to remove funding from abusers.
• UCU to maintain a public register of offences including naming institutions.

Members of the branch resolved at the ordinary general meeting 11 March 2025 to submit this motion from the branch to UCU higher education sector conference 2025. The text here is subject to approval of the minutes of that meeting. The motion was proposed by the committee, moved by Sandy James and seconded by Natalie Kopytko.