UCL-UCU: *RSVP* General Meeting Thursday 17 March, 1-2 pm

This is a reminder for our General Meeting which will be held tomorrow, Thursday 17 March from 1-2 pm, facilitated using Zoom conferencing.

We have received three motions to UCU Congress 2022 (see Appendix 1), as well as two motions that relate to our ongoing industrial action around the Four Fights dispute (see Appendix 2).

We are entitled to submit one motion to the joint UCU Congress and two to the Higher Education Sector Conference part of Congress. Therefore, the meeting will need to decide which of the two motions (1) and (2) below - if any - to submit to the full Congress.

Members may submit amendments to any of the motions in the appendices below or propose alternative motions. There is a word limit of 150 words for motions in Appendix 1. Please email ucu@ucl.ac.uk no later than 10:00 tomorrow, 17 March, to allow for pre-circulation.

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Appendix 1 - motions to UCU Congress 2022

Congress Motion 1

Occupations, violations of human rights, boycott, divestment, and sanctions

UCU Notes:

1. The rightful opposition by UK trade unionists to the occupation of Ukraine.
2. Other occupations and human rights-violating attacks on civilian populations exist.
3. Protest forms, such as boycotts, divestment, and sanctions have been adopted by different sectors across the UK as means of opposing the occupation of Ukraine.

UCU Believes:

1. Accepting boycotts, divestment, and sanctions as legitimate forms of opposition to the occupation of Ukraine, means, by consistency, they can be legitimate tools of protest and opposition to other occupations and attacks on civilian populations

UCU Resolves to:

1. Condemn all human rights violating occupations and attacks on civilian populations.
2. Support legitimate peaceful activist campaigns against such occupations and attacks including those advocating boycott, divestment, and sanctions.

 [123 words]

Congress Motion 2

Oppose the invasion of Ukraine - for peace not escalation

Congress stands united in our condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We declare our support for the human rights of those under occupation or suffering oppression.

Congress resolves to:

1. Call on the UK Government to allow unconditional entry to the UK to refugees displaced by and fleeing this conflict, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or citizenship.
2. Offer our solidarity to any colleagues and students directly and indirectly affected by these events.
3. Support all those calling for peace, including those in very difficult circumstances in Russia and Belarus, and to call on all governments – including our own – to bring about a peaceful end to this war.
4. Call on UK universities to facilitate the resettlement of refugee staff and students.

(122 words)

HE Sector Conference Motion

Defend Education - Fight for the Future

Conference notes:

1. The student tuition fee cap freeze of £27,295 for post-2011 graduates, with RPI+3% over 30 years.
2. From 2023 entry, graduates will repay RPI-rated student loans above a salary threshold of £25,000 - for 40 years.
3. Additional proposals for minimum exam entry requirements for undergraduates, and caps in student recruitment for courses without ‘well paid graduate jobs’.
4. That existing market competition is creating university ‘winners and losers’, job losses and course closures, and undermining national bargaining.

Conference resolves:

1. To build a UK-wide campaign against these changes and for a sustainable funding model without fees and loans, and approach the NUS, the TUC and individual trade unions, and campaigning organisations such as the CDBU, CPU and HE Convention for support.
2. To call national demonstrations in Autumn 2022 in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast under the slogan ‘Defend Education - Fight for the Future’.

[149 words]

Appendix 2 - local motions

Local Motion 1 - additional payment availability from local hardship fund

UCL UCU notes:

1. The National Officers of the UCU have decided that the central UCU Fighting Fund be used to support the forthcoming round of industrial action in pursuit of the USS and Four Fights campaigns.
2. For eligible members, the sum of £50 can be claimed for the second and subsequent days of strike action for members earning £30,000 gross or more per annum, and the sum of up to £75 for the second and subsequent days of strike action for members earning less than £30,000 gross per annum.
3. These payments are subject to a cap of 11 days, which will be kept under review.
4. That the amount claimed cannot exceed loss of earnings.

UCL UCU resolves:

1. To use monies in the local UCL UCU hardship fund to support claims for the first day of industrial action, and to pay the same amounts to eligible members as the national UCU Fighting Fund (as set out in ‘notes’ point 2 above) i.e. £50 or £75.
2. A one-off additional payment of £75 be available to members experiencing exceptional hardship i.e., having difficulty paying essential bills such as rent or mortgage, Council Tax, food, and utilities.
3. That the eligibility criteria for claiming from the central UCU Fighting Fund apply to the local UCL UCU hardship fund.

Click here for detailed guidance on claiming from the UCU Fighting Fund.

Local Motion 2 - Strike Deductions and Student Hardship Funds

UCL UCU notes:

1. Where UCL has budgeted for full staff costs, any deductions from staff wages represent a saving on agreed budgets and additional funds.
2. Historically, strike pay deductions have been donated to the Student Hardship Fund, now known as 'UCL Financial Assistance Funds'.
3. The importance of solidarity between staff and students in campaigning for a fairer university in the Four Fights dispute.

UCL UCU resolves:

1. To call publicly on the Provost to confirm that deductions from staff wages for strike action or ASOS are added to the existing funds for the UCL Financial Assistance Funds.
2. That the total amount deducted and donated is made public to staff and students.
3. To campaign jointly with the UCL Student Union towards this goal.

Explanatory note: in the case of research staff funded by fixed term grants, unspent salary costs are retained by the Principal Investigator and should be spent on extending their contracts and deadlines.