Members of the branch agreed the following motions at the General Meeting on 22 October 2020.

Redundancies

This branch instructs its officers and committee to organise the necessary steps to mobilise the branch to stop any proposed redundancies in the Faculties of Medicine and Health and Biological Sciences.

Motion to UCU LGBT+ members’ conference – Campaign for GRA reforms and against asylum seeker persecution

Conference notes that the rise of the alt right and political scapegoating has led to a very significant rise in LGBT+ hate crime and a consequent rise in LGBT+ asylum seekers.
Conference further notes the failure of the Government to implement the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) reforms.

Conference resolves:

1. To raise the profile of the UCU campaign for reform of the GRA.
2. To campaign for an end to the persecution of asylum seekers.

Motion to UCU Women members’ conference – Caring responsibilities during the pandemic

Conference notes that:

• Many members, often women, have caring responsibilities for children or for family members who are older, ill or disabled.
• COVID-19 has particularly impacted carers’ ability to work their full contracted hours, due for example to children being home because of nursery/school outbreaks, difficulty in arranging tests, and needing to support household members who have symptoms or are otherwise required to isolate.
• This is not a temporary problem which can be accommodated through normal carers’ or parental leave policies.
• Expecting carers to fit their full contracted hours around caring responsibilities, i.e. by working evenings and weekends, is unacceptable and will result in health problems.

Conference resolves that:

• UCU should develop guidance for branches on negotiating policies for:
  • safe flexible working and additional special leave for carers during the pandemic
  • no career detriment through carers being unable to achieve expected research outputs or other objectives.

Re-affiliation and online subscription to Labour Research Department publications

This branch notes that the Labour Research Department is an independent research organisation which has provided information and resources for trades unions reps and negotiators for over 100 years.

This branch believes that Labour Research Department (LRD) booklets including Law At Work are a valuable resource on employment law and best practices for trade union reps.

This branch agrees to re-affiliate to Labour Research Department and to re-subscribe to LRD booklets online on an annual basis, the cost to be set by the Labour Research Department, except that if the cost goes above £500 this will be reconsidered at a General Meeting.

Re-affiliation to Leeds Trades Unions Council

This branch notes:

• That Leeds Trades Unions Council (Leeds TUC) is, and has been for a century and a half, a valued way for members of local trade union branches from different workplaces across the city to work together on common issues at a grass roots level, to support each other, and to celebrate and promote the work of trades unions in the city.
• That Trades Council delegate meetings take place on the last Wednesday of the month (except December), starting at 7pm at the Swarthmore Education Centre, Woodhouse Square, Leeds, and that this branch is entitled to send up to ten delegates to the meetings.

This branch agrees:

• To re-affiliate to Leeds TUC on an annual basis, cost to be set by Leeds TUC, except that if the cost goes above £500 this will be reconsidered at a General Meeting.
• That the committee should appoint up to ten delegates to represent the branch at Leeds TUC each year.

This page was last updated on 5 July 2021