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Clone of General Meeting Thursday 14th March

This meeting has been called to debate motions that members wish to be submitted to UCU Congress and HE Sector Conference in the name of the branch.

Please note the longer meeting time of 90 minutes and the earlier start time of 12pm.

There are three Motions and two Amendments for members to debate and vote on at the meeting which can be found in the appendices below.

Congress and HE Sector Conference Motions

Congress and HE Sector Conference Amendments

Other Motions

Appendix 1 - Motions

Motion for UCU Congress 

Congress Motion 1. Gaza, BDS, and UCU

Congress notes

  1. The genocidal assault on Gaza, the destruction of all its universities, and the targeted killing of its scholars;

  2. The ongoing disruption of West Bank Palestinian universities, administrative detention of students and staff, and the Israeli military quota on visiting scholars; 

  3. The established role of Israeli universities in the maintenance of the apartheid system; and

  4. The attempt to suppress Palestinian advocacy and critical scholarly work on the Middle East and North Africa in British HE.

Congress resolves to:

  1. Alert all members to UCU policy in support of academic BDS, inviting them to sign the Academic Commitment for Palestine;

  2. Campaign vigorously and publicly for disinvestment by USS from genocide-complicit companies;

  3. Urge branches to support local campaigns to sever ties with Israeli universities, and divest from complicit companies; and

  4. Defend voices for Palestine on campuses, join and donate £1k to the national campaign, and affiliate to BRICUP.

(146 words)
Proposed: Saladin Mecked-Garcia

Motions for HE Sector Conference

HE Motion 1. Defending union branches from employer censorship on Palestine - or other matters

Conference notes 

  1. Intervention by Oxford University to deny debate to a branch motion calling for a "Socialist Intifada" in the Middle East.

  2. Censorship by UCL of the UCL UCU branch website for passing a similar motion.

  3. Breaking into UCU offices at Queen Mary University of London to remove a UCU "Ceasefire Now" poster and one calling for an end to "Israeli apartheid", both protected free speech.

These attacks parallel those made on individual union members for free speech on Palestine. But they also concern the independent democratic functioning of union branches.

Conference further notes

  1. The launch meeting of Campus Voices for Palestine on 25 January at UCL.

  2. The BRICUP-organised tour of campuses with follow-up events.

Conference resolves

  1. To ensure UCU robustly defends branches from attack by employers, including with legal support.

  2. To encourage branches and Regions to participate in the BRICUP tour.

 (149 words)

Proposed: Sean Wallis
Seconded: Saladin Meckled-Garcia

HE Motion 2. General Election 2024, HE and tuition fees

Conference notes

  1. UUK's 2022 call to increase home undergraduate tuition fees to £12,000 or more.

  2. The Conservative Government's changes to student loan conditions to compel students to repay RPI-based loans for 40 years.

  3. UUK's Price Waterhouse Coopers January 2024 report claiming that 80% of universities will be in financial difficulties if international student recruitment falls.

  4. The imminent General Election.

  5. Existing policy opposed to tuition fees or graduate tax as a tax on learning.

Conference believes

  1. The incoming Labour Government will be put under pressure to increase home undergraduate tuition fees, further pricing out working-class students.

Conference resolves UCU will build a public campaign in the run-up to a General Election to 

  1. publicise and popularise UCU's priorities for a sustainable alternative funding for Higher Education, paid for via progressive taxation; and

  2. emphasise Higher Education's value as a public good for an educated population.

(149 words)

Proposed: Sean Wallis
Seconded: Ilektra Christidi

Appendix 2 - Amendments

Amendment 1 to Congress Motion 1. Gaza, BDS, and UCU.

Under ‘Conference notes’ add a new point 1:

  1. ‘The atrocities carried out by Hamas on 7 October’

And renumber subsequent points accordingly. 

Similarly, under ‘Congress resolves to’ add a new point 1: 

  1. ‘Campaign vigorously for the release of all the hostages still held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners wrongly held in Israeli jails, and for an end to the war in Gaza.’

And renumber subsequent points accordingly.

Proposed by Pete Duncan
Seconded by Sacha Stern, François Guesnet

 

Amendment 2 to Congress Motion 1. Gaza, BDS, and UCU

Congress notes:

  1. The genocidal assault on Gaza, the destruction of all its universities, and the targeted killing of its scholars
    Amended to: 
    “Widespread humanitarian crime in Gaza, the destruction of universities, and the targeted killing of scholars”.
  2.  The ongoing disruption of West Bank Palestinian universities, administrative detention of students and staff, and the Israeli military quota on visiting scholars. 
  3. The established role of Israeli universities in the maintenance of the apartheid system;
    Amended to:
    “The established role of Israeli universities in defending violent oppression in the occupied West Bank and Gaza
  4. The attempt to suppress Palestinian advocacy and critical scholarly work on the Middle East and North Africa in British HE.

Congress resolves to:

  1. Alert all members to UCU policy in support of academic BDS, inviting them to sign the Academic Commitment for Palestine.
  2. Campaign vigorously and publicly for disinvestment by USS from genocide-complicit companies
    Amended to:
    “Campaign publicly for disinvestment by USS from companies complicit in humanitarian crimes”
  3. Urge branches to support local campaigns to sever ties with Israeli universities, and divest from complicit companies; and
  4. Defend voices for Palestine on campuses, join and donate £1k to the national campaign, and affiliate to BRICUP.

Proposed by Allen Abramson


 

Motion on 'Transfer of historic IOE UCU Membership funds to UCL UCU'

Notes 

  • That money arising from local membership fees of IOE UCU members remains in an IOE UCU  Bank account.

  • IOE UCU no longer exists as a UCU Branch and therefore these funds cannot be used by UCU.

  • IOE UCU Merged with UCL UCU and UCU members in IOE are now members of UCL UCU branch 

  • That IOE UCU members wish to retain the use of these historic funds to support UCU members in IOE. 

 

Motion 

 UCL UCU IOE members section resolves 

  1. That a 2nd /sub-branch bank account of UCL UCU  be established to enable the transfer and holding of the funds of the former IOE UCU Branch. These are funds that accrued from IOE UCU members local membership fees before the merger of the 2 branches in 2019.

  2. That expenditure from the account (within the framework of UCU National and Branch rules) should be decided by members from UCL IOE UCU subsection by means of formal proposals and agreement at UCL IOE UCU section members meetings. 

  3. That Funds in the IOE sub-branch account* may be used by UCL UCU Members in the UCL IOE section for the purposes of 

  • Members meetings expenses inc. refreshments

  • Local Campaign materials 

  • Tokens of recognition and appreciation for services to IOE UCU members 

 

*Payments from this sub-branch account need to be approved the UCL UCU Branch officers who are current signatories on the main UCL UCU bank account