Motions passed at Emergency General Meeting 8th August 2023

Motion 1: Next steps for the MAB?

UCL UCU notes:

• The intransigence of UCEA, who have not improved their 15 March final offer for the 2023-2024 pay dispute.
• The serious disruption caused by the MAB to management, students, and workers throughout the sector.
• The punitive pay deductions that have been applied to members participating in MAB, nationally and at UCL.
• That employers have disregarded academic standards in order to bypass the MAB, and progress or graduate students, thereby damaging the reputation of UK HE.
• That the delay by the General Secretary and officers of the union in authorising a new ballot for industrial action means there will be a break in the current legal mandate for industrial action, which expires at the end of September.
• That management can instruct members participating in MAB to carry out marking and assessment from 1 Oct when the mandate expires.
• UCL management’s threat of further punitive deductions for 14 days for MAB mid-September for Late Summer Assessments.
• The statements from the General Secretary on 1 August and UCEA indicating that the 2023-2024 pay dispute is deadlocked.

UCL UCU resolves:

1. To advise UCL UCU members not to boycott the marking of new assessments such as the Late Summer Assessments, Postgraduate Taught marking, and other incoming work.
2. That existing marking and assessment which has not been carried out due to MAB will not be marked unless and until UCL management withdraw their threat of punitive pay deductions.
3. That (if UCL management continues to demand completion of previously-boycotted marking) without removing the threat of punitive pay deductions, we will use our existing legal mandate to call for strike action during Induction Week (25-30 September).
4. To continue to challenge the legality of punitive pay deductions at UCL.
5. If the threat of punitive deductions is not withdrawn, to ask members who have not yet made a pledge to contribute to the UCL Fighting Fund, to help cover all members participating in MAB so that none suffer the loss of more than 7 days’ pay.

6. To call a further all-members general meeting next week to review the situation.

Result: Carried (84% for; 3% against; 13% abstentions)

Motion 2: Call the reballot now!

UCL UCU notes

1. that a Branch Delegate Meeting has been called for Friday 11 August which will advise HEC on the next steps in the dispute;

2. that our motion at HESC calling a long summer reballot has not yet been actioned 

UCL UCU believes that UCEA's decision to wait out our action until 30 September is due to the fact that UCU will have no industrial action mandate after that date.

UCL UCU resolves to write to the General Secretary and HE officers to call an immediate reballot of members in both disputes with the minimum of break between mandates; if this does not occur, to call on HEC to do likewise.

Result: Carried (76% for; 14% against; 11% abstentions)

Read about the latest developments with the MAB action at UCL, and guidance to members about next steps here.