51¸£Àû

51¸£Àû/2027 ÌýÌý8 April 2022

University and College UnionÌýÌýÌýÌý

Carlow Street, London NW1 7LH, Tel. 020 7756 2500, www.ucu.org.uk

ToÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Branch and local association secretaries, special conference delegates

TopicÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý First report of the Congress business committee: special higher education sector conference – to review the four fights campaign

ActionÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Amendments to motions in this report must be submitted by 12 noon, 12 April. Delegates’ advance speaking requests should be submitted by 12 noon, 19 April.

Summary ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Motions submitted for debate to the special HE sector conference taking place on 20 April 2022.

 

FIRST REPORT OF THE CONGRESS BUSINESS COMMITTEE

Special higher education sector conference, 20 April 2022

to review the four fights campaign

On-line conference

 

At its meeting on Thursday 7 April, the HE members of the Congress Business Committee (CBC) considered motions submitted to the special HE sector conference that will take place on 20 April.

Business of this special sector conference

The business of this special sector conference is, as described in the calling notice , to review the four fights campaign.

No other business may be transacted at this special conference (rule 16.11). 

Information about this conference can be found at

/hesc_april22

 

1           Motions ordered into CBC’s first reportÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý

1.1ÌýÌýÌý Motions received

39 motions were received by the deadline and considered by the Congress business committee (CBC).

1.2ÌýÌýÌý Motions not ordered into the agenda

One motion was considered not to be within the business of the conference and appears at the end of this report numbered B1.

1.3ÌýÌýÌý Compositing of motions

Five motions were composited to create one composite motion (motion 5). The original text of these motions appears as an appendix to this paper (C1-C5).

1.4       Format of motions

Consistent with recognition of devolution in the UK, in all motions, uses of the word ‘national’ have been changed to ‘UK-wide’, ‘UK’, or ‘central’, where this is the intended meaning.

2ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Consequentials

CBC identified a number of consequentials in the motions ordered for debate. These are highlighted alongside the motions in this report.

3ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Timetable

Conference sessions will be held 11:00-13:00 and 14:00-16:00. Additional short breaks will be included.

Online log-in will be open from 30 minutes ahead of the first session.

Sections of business will be timed. A timetable will be issued with CBC’s second report (to be issued Wednesday 13 April).

All business will be taken in private session.

 

4ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Amendments and late motionsÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý

4.1ÌýÌýÌý Amendments to motions

ÌýÌýÌýÌý The deadline for receipt of amendments to motions set out in this circular is 12 NOON, Tuesday 12 April.Ìý Each amendment must

i.     State clearly the number of the motion to which it refers

ii.    Indicate the way in which it relates to the motion (eg. ‘add at end’)

iii.   be within the word limit for amendments, that is, add not more than 75 new words to a motion

iv.  be certified by the branch secretary or other local officer as being properly approved by a quorate branch general meeting or branch committee meeting

Amendments must add no more than 75 words to the motion which they amend and must be submitted in accordance with section 3 of the Standing Orders and rule 16. Congress standing orders are available at

/hesc_april22

Amendments must not materially change the policy of the motion (standing order 51iv).

Branches are entitled to submit up to two amendments.

Amendments can be submitted by branch/local association secretaries using the online form available at /hesc_april22. Alternatively, amendments can be emailed to congressmotions@ucu.org.uk – emails must provide all the information noted above.

It will not be possible, during the course of the conference, to propose that a motion be taken in parts. Therefore, where a branch wishes to reject a particular element of a motion, it may wish to submit an amendment to ‘delete point X’.Ìý

The receipt of all amendments will be acknowledged. If you do not receive acknowledgement of an amendment that you have sent, please contact 51¸£Àû before the deadline for receipt of amendments – by email to Christine Bernabe.Ìý Branches are advised not to leave the submission of amendments to the last minute.

Amendments and late motions (see below), if any, will be considered by CBC at its second meeting and included in its second report, which will be issued on Wednesday 13 April and which will form the agenda for this conference.Ìý

3.2 Late motions – submit by 12:00 noon, Tuesday 12 April 2022

The amendment deadline also acts as a late motion deadline. For CBC to accept a ‘late’ motion for ordering into the agenda it must satisfy all the following criteria (in accordance with rule 16.11 and Congress standing order 10):

iÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý it is within the remit of this special conference, that is to review the four fights campaign

iiÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý it is urgent or timely and requires a decision of this special conference

iiiÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý it could not have been submitted within the prescribed time limit, that is, by the motion deadline of noon on Wednesday 6 April, and

ivÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý it has been approved in accordance with the standing orders of Congress and the branch/local association rules (for branches, this usually mean by a branch meeting).

In submitting a ‘late’ motion branches/local associations must explain how the above criteria are met. Late motions can be submitted by branch/LA secretaries using the online form at /hesc_april22.

Alternatively, urgent, late motions can be emailed to congressmotions@ucu.org.uk – emails must provide all the information noted above.

Late motions, if any, submitted by the amendment deadline of noon, Tuesday 12 April, will be put to CBC to consider for inclusion. If CBC does not consider that the above criteria are satisfied then the motion will be printed at the end of the agenda.

No late motions can be considered by CBC after the amendments deadline, and no emergency motions can be submitted during the course of the conference.

4.3ÌýÌýÌý Representations on CBC’s first report

It will not be possible to take challenges to CBC’s report from the conference ‘floor’. If any branch wishes to submit a representation in respect of the compositing or ordering of motions in this report, it should do so ahead of the amendment deadline (12 noon on Tuesday 12 April), so that CBC can consider a response ahead of the issuing of its final report, using the address congressmotions@ucu.org.uk

 

5ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Arrangements for this on-line conference

5.1ÌýÌýÌý Advance speaking requests – deadline 12 noon, 19 April.

All delegates who wish to speak on motions and amendments, including movers and seconders of motions, must submit advance speaking requests. These can be submitted at /hesc_april22.

Speaking requests can be submitted to all motions ordered into the agenda. Delegates are urged to make their speaking requests at the earliest opportunity, and no later than 12 noon, 19 April.

5.2ÌýÌýÌý Arrangements for the conduct of business

Due to the conduct of this meeting on-line, it is not possible for business to be conducted in keeping with all parts of the union’s usual Congress standing orders. This meeting will be conducted on the same basis as previous online Congress and sector conferences.

The arrangements for the conduct of business are set out in this report as appendix 2.

The arrangements include voting on motions after the conference (by e-ballot), and no procedural motions during the course of the conference, with delegates’ speaking requests to be made in advance. As with previous on-line conferences, delegates will be asked to vote in advance to accept the suspension and variation of the standing orders, and CBC’s final report.

As for all 51¸£Àû conferences, delegates must be registered in advance, by the registration deadline – 12 noon, Tuesday 12 April.

 

 

 

Motions for debate

Higher education special sector conference, 20 April 2022

to review the four fights campaign

1ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Report and recommendations of the UK negotiatorsÌý Higher education committee

HE sector conference notes the report and approves the recommendations of the UK negotiators contained in .

Strike action and action short of a strike

Advice from Congress business committee on consequentials (motions 2-6):

If motion 2 is passed, motions 3 and 4 fall.Ìý

If motion 3 is passed, motion 4 falls.Ìý

If any of motions 2, 3 or 4 are passed, motion 5 points ii and iv fall.

If any of motions 2, 3, 4 or 5 are passed, motion 6 points 3 and 4 fall.

2ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Call for indefinite strike action Ìý University of Sheffield

Conference believes that:

1.    The current pay degradation, workloads, inequality and job insecurity across the Higher Education sector are completely unacceptable in the fullest sense of the word, meaning that winning this dispute is not optional.

2.    Employers have shown that they are prepared to wait us out when there is an end date in sight.

3.    We cannot return to work until these issues have been resolved fully, and our action needs to reflect that, as well as taking into account the employer's increasing unwillingness to negotiate.

Conference resolves to call for the UK-wide escalation of the ongoing strike action to indefinite strike action to take place during the next available mandate leading up to, alongside and if necessary beyond the marking boycott.Ìý

3ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Indefinite action Four Fights ÌýÌý Dundee University

SHEC resolves to:

1.ÌýÌý Call ‘indefinite’ strike action in the Four Fights dispute commencing one week after the beginning of a marking and assessment boycott. Indefinite is defined as consisting of notification for the following 12 weeks of the mandate.Ìý

2.ÌýÌý Reserve the right to call off some number of dates of this action subject to weekly review by asking delegates from striking branches their views on the employer response at that point. Dates will be potentially called off one week at a time, via the mechanism of a single issue branch delegate meeting.

Branches will be given flexibility to opt out of specific time periods related to holidays, reading weeks and term dates, in consultation and in agreement of the HE officers, and with the goal of maintaining roughly equal strike dates across branches.

4 ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Escalate to indefinite action with local consultationÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý University of Manchester

SHESC notes

1.    That the four fights dispute is based on a set of clear and winnable demands.

2.    The dedication and determination of our members during the recent industrial action

3.    That our action so far in this round has not led to meaningful negotiations with the employers.

SHESC believes:

a.     We need a serious escalation in our industrial action to achieve a win on the four fights.

b.    That this includes the need for the four fights to continue to be coupled with the USS dispute, with any strike days being taken on the same dates.

SHESC resolves:

                 i.   To instruct HEC to call a significant programme of strike days that are locally consulted upon and coordinated UK-wide, and includes a marking and assessment boycott.

                ii.   For strike days to be called as a form of indefinite action, meaning striking on every day that will have an impact on the employers with no end date.

Advice from Congress business committee on consequentials:

If any of motions 2, 3 or 4 are passed, motion 5 points ii and iv fall.

If motion 5 is passed, motion 6 points 3 and 4 fall.

5ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Composite: ASOS and strike actionÌý ÌýÌýÌý University of Brighton, Grand Parade; Dundee University; Bournemouth University; University of Ulster; University of Liverpool

SHESC notes

1.    The intransigence of the employers over both HE disputes.

2.    The growing support for a marking and assessment boycott among members.

SHESC believes

a.     That a marking and assessment boycott can be an effective tactic

b.    Branches must not be allowed to suffer punitive pay deductions in isolation.

SHESC calls on HEC to

                 i.   Initiate a marking and assessment boycott at the earliest opportunity in all branches with a mandate.

                ii.   Notify bouts of ten days of strike action commencing in late May to support the ASOS

               iii.   Call BDMs before notification of further action.

               iv.   Adopt the practice of notifying further bouts of action before the previous bout has concluded.

                v.   Make an emergency appeal inside and outside the union to boost the Fighting Fund for branches suffering punitive deductions.

Advice from Congress business committee on consequentials:

If any of motions 2, 3, 4 or 5 are passed, motion 6 points 3 and 4 fall.

6ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Industrial action planÌýÌý University College London

HESC resolves 51¸£Àû will:

1. Ìý Identify summer term dates with each branch.

2. Ìý Call a boycott of all summative marking from the start of summer term.

3. Ìý Notify each employer of an initial two-week strike period from week 3 of term, stating that strikes may be avoided depending on the employer’s conduct, in particular that if the employer insists on disproportionate pay deductions for participation in ASOS then strikes will not be stood down.

4. Ìý Notify further two-week strike periods to each employer prior to each subsequent strike.

5. Ìý Ask branches to delegate two officers to coordinate with ROs and Head of HE to enact this plan.

6. Ìý Call weekly Branch Delegate Meetings with voting powers to continually monitor the UK-wide situation.

7. Ìý Ask members not taking ASOS to pledge a day’s pay a week to local hardship funds.

8. Ìý Call an emergency appeal for the central Fighting Fund.

7ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Planning and supporting the Four Fights coupled with USS dispute University of Cambridge

SHESC notes that attacks on job security and casualisation and the proliferation of ‘fire and hire’ tacticsÌý Huge rises in the cost of livingÌý Despite these circumstances 51¸£Àû branches in Cambridge, Manchester, RCA, OpenÌý University and elsewhere have won concessions or have forced negotiations on casualisation In many branches 51¸£Àû membership among casualised members has dramatically increased, particularly among PhD students who teach as GTAs and in other types of insecure and underpaid roles.Ìý

SHESC believes that these local successes are the result of branch initiatives in conjunction with a raised profile for anti-casualisation through the Four Fights dispute

SHESC resolves:

1.    To call effective UK-wide strike action during the current academic year under the Four Fights dispute combined with a marking boycottÌý

2.    Not to ‘decouple’ this action from the USS disputeÌý

3.    To provide UK-wide campaigning support for branches engaged in local anti-casualisation disputes during the UK-wide strike days.

8ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Assessment boycott as a core part of our UK-wide strategyÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Newcastle University

Conference notes:

1.    Observing that the neoliberal university depends on data streams as never before, and is particularly vulnerable to their closure;

2.    Recalling that in 2016 an assessment boycott at Newcastle University over the draconian ‘Raising the Bar’ targets-based performance-management scheme was spectacularly successful in winning the dispute after one full day of ASOS, galvanising students and their parents to pile pressure on university management over concerns around graduation and stage progression;

3.    Noting that in recent ballots support for ASOS has generally been consistently high;

4.    Recognising that not all members take part in a single activity at any one time, but holding that assessment boycotts are nonetheless one of the most powerful tools at our collective disposal.

Conference calls on HEC to mandate an assessment boycott as a core part of our UK-wide strategy for all branches in the four fights and pensions dispute, alongside the currently-tabled and future industrial action.

9ÌýÌýÌýÌý 4 Fights - Escalating industrial actionÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý University of Nottingham

Conference notes:

1.ÌýÌýÌý That there are sufficient surpluses within Higher Education to address the decline in real terms pay, the shameful pay gaps and the scourge of casualisation and rising workloads;

2.ÌýÌýÌý That employers have backtracked on promises gained after the 2019-2020 industrial action and have refused to engage in meaningful consultation with 51¸£Àû;

3.ÌýÌýÌý That the future of HE is at stake and that we need to re-double our efforts to bring employers to the table for meaningful negotiations.

Conference resolves:

a.     To escalate industrial action by moving towards a marking boycott. Interfering with the award of degrees will hurt employers and is the strongest weapon 51¸£Àû has not used;

b.    To give branches maximum local discretion about when to take industrial action as assessment timetables differ from institution to institution

c.     To support further industrial action with a vigorous fundraising campaign to support the central fighting fund.

10ÌýÌýÌýÌý Motion on marking boycott for Four Fights and USS disputesÌýÌýÌýÌý Ìý Durham University

Conference believes

a.     That successful action over the four fights and USS will require intensification of industrial action.

b.    That a marking boycott is one option to achieve this and should be a priority for the next round of industrial action.

Conference resolves

1.    To call for marking boycotts at the earliest opportunity.

2.    That 51¸£Àû’s UK officers MUST communicate with local branches in issuing industrial action notices to ensure dates are maximally effective.

3.    That boycott organisation will be coordinated through regular, scheduled Branch Delegate Meetings to share best practice and decide on strategy.

4.    That local branches should coordinate local fundraising and cross-subsidise wages from those not affected to those likely to have pay docked.

5.    Where local branches cannot cross-subsidise or fundraise, they will be prioritised for central funds, and other branches (especially any not passing the threshold) should consider donating directly to their strike funds.

11ÌýÌýÌýÌý Four fights continued and marking Boycott ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý University of Essex

Conference notes:

1.ÌýÌý UCEA’s 1.5% pay offer does not keep staff pay level with inflation;

2.ÌýÌý Employers have not made sufficient progress on 51¸£Àû’s demands concerning decasualisation, equality and workload. Conference believes UUK’s rejection of 51¸£Àû’s USS proposals makes a ‘win’ on the Four Fights imperative.

ÌýConference resolves to:Ìý

a.ÌýÌý continue the call on UCEA for a £2,500 pay uplift on all points;

b.ÌýÌý call on employers to support the creation of new JNCHES;

c.ÌýÌý prepare for a marking boycott, ASOS, and calls for external examiner resignations if employers do not agree to, or negotiate on, points a and b.

12ÌýÌýÌýÌý Escalation of Four Fights DisputeÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Anti Casualisation Committee

Conference believes that the consequences of the Four Fights dispute will be hugely significant for the future of the sector. Employers have repeatedly tabled real-terms pay cuts and an offer of 0% while inflation spikes, alongside rampant precarity and redundancy threats. This approach is destroying employment conditions in our sector and the effects of this will be felt most keenly by casualised HE workers.

Conference further believes:Ìý Given the employers have a massive financial interest in undermining our terms and conditions, it will require a significant escalation of industrial action, meaning weeks of strikes rather than days, combined with an assessment boycott to win.

Action and conduct of dispute in 2022-23 academic year and beyond

Advice from Congress business committee on consequentials:

If motion 13 is passed, motion 14 point ii falls.

13ÌýÌýÌýÌý Next steps in the disputesÌýÌý Newcastle University

Conference notes the successful strategy employed by Liverpool 51¸£Àû to defeat redundancies at their institution, viz. a marking boycott, followed by the threat of industrial action affecting the following academic year.

Conference calls:

1.    on HEC to schedule a ballot of members for all-out industrial action in the USS and Four Fights disputes, in order that action should commence from the beginning of the academic year 2022/2023;

2.    on HEC to develop a strategy that can sustain strike action over months rather than weeks;

3.    on the General Secretary to use her public platform to promulgate the intent of rendering the first semester of the next academic year non-viable; in particular, to make this intent known to potential international applicants.

This motion is to be viewed as independent to any action affecting the remainder of the academic year 2021-2022.

14ÌýÌýÌýÌý Planning now for action next academic yearÌýÌýÌý University of Cambridge

SHESC notes that recent industrial action has been planned reactively, undermined by failures to:

1.    ballot for action during summer 2021

2.    pre-plan effectively timed escalation.Ìý

SHESC believes that

a.     ineffective action risks demoralisation, undermining the union

b.    effective action must be pre-planned democratically in consultation with elected branch delegates and vigorously implemented by the union centrally.Ìý

SHESC resolves:

AÌýÌý that the General Secretary now coordinate preparation of an industrial action plan for the academic year 2022-23, including

                                i.   aggregated ballots to maintain mandates for action throughout

                              ii.   two weeks of strikes when autumn teaching commences everywhere

                             iii.   a timetable for escalation of strikes in 2022-23

                             iv.   marking, admissions and worktime-survey boycotts

                              v.   immediate, united UK-wide responses to punitive ASOS deductions

                             vi.   contingencies to foreseeable events

                            vii.   transparent negotiations and decision making.

The plan should consider:

·       the UK employer negotiations calendar

·       the teaching terms of institutions.

BÌýÌý the HEC modify and activate the plan if the disputes are unresolved on 1/7/2022

15ÌýÌýÌýÌý Strike action during induction Autumn 2022 ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Sheffield Hallam University

Conference notes:  

1.    the continued decline in pay which has led to a real terms pay cut of over 20%  

2.    persistent inequalities in relation to insecure contracts, disability, gender and ethnicity  

3.    rampant work intensification and a decline in conditions which has led to widespread work-related ill health  

4.    the spectre of [more, concerted] attacks on staff in the TPS  

5.    an employer which refuses to engage in meaningful negotiations  

6.    the absence of an effective strategy to address the problem of ASOS-related pay deductions  

Conference believe that an effective industrial action strategy must: 

a.     be informed by the views and experiences of members on the ground  

b.    take account of local variations in delivery patterns and activities  

Conference resolves to recommend strike action of at least 5 consecutive days in the induction period of the academic year 2022/23, with exact timings to be locally determined in order to have maximum impact.  

16ÌýÌýÌýÌý Working towards a long-term strategy for the four fights campaignÌý Swansea University

This conference notes the 4F campaign deals with the most difficult, underhanded, and creeping issues the Union faces as a result of the commercialisation of HE.

This conference celebrates action taken by thousands of members over the past six months.

This conference resolves to:

1.    Undertake a mapping exercise of membership within 6 months, engaging all membership, especially underrepresented groups such as ARPS and casually employed members. To explore specific solutions to the issues of the 4F Campaign, locally and UK-wide.

2.    Hold a special conference within 10 months on impactful action post-COVID, with special streams on ARPS, pay gaps and casualisation.

3.    Demand a real term pay rise that reflects the soaring cost of living.

4.    Work closely with sister unions, UK-wide and locally, to identify common issues and organise common action.

17ÌýÌýÌýÌý 51¸£Àû HEC invitation to ACAS collective conciliation and local negotiationsÌýÌýÌý University of Bristol

HESC notes:

1.    UCEA’s refusal to engage with 51¸£Àû proposals regarding the ‘four ´Ú¾±²µ³ó³Ù²õ’.ÌýÌý

2.    ACAS offers collective conciliation over pay, enabling but not imposing agreement.

3.    Universities should negotiate with 51¸£Àû branches on workload, equality and casualisation as a basis for UK-wide agreement.

HESC believes :

a.     UCEA should be invited to address the pay dispute through ACAS conciliation.

b.    UCEA’s refusal to bargain on three of the four fights could be addressed by local negotiations.

HESC resolves:

                   i.     To instruct HEC to invite UCEA to enter ACAS conciliation on pay, with UCEA refusal prompting further industrial action.

                  ii.     That ACAS conciliation be conditional on extension of any current ballot mandate from 6 to 9 months.  

                 iii.     That HEC assist 51¸£Àû branches to engage in local negotiations on workloads, equality and casualisation, assessing successes after 9 months.Ìý

18ÌýÌýÌýÌý Building towards a transformational UK-wide dispute on payÌý University of East Anglia

Special sector conference notes:

1.ÌýÌý The strength, feeling and desire for a significant and transformational award across all four fights.Ìý

2.ÌýÌý The capacity of branch committees and the membership to organise GTVO campaigns is waning, and this presents a potential threat to the movement.Ìý

3.ÌýÌý That time is required to build a strategic claim that enables over 50% of UK membership to participate in the action.

Special sector conference resolves to:Ìý

a.     To build towards a significant and transformational pay award in 2023/4.Ìý

b.    To engage members in consultation on bargaining and the 2023/4 claim at the branch and regional level.Ìý

c.     To use the time to engage with sister unions engaged in JNCHES to progress the joint claim with the intention of joint dispute and action.

d.    To strongly consider the use of an aggregated ballot for any industrial action resulting from the 2023/4 claim.

Timing of industrial action

19ÌýÌýÌýÌý Taking effective industrial action ÌýUniversity of Glasgow

Conference believes that:

1.    The Higher Education Committee (HEC) has failed to adequately consult with branches to coordinate meaningful dates and ensure that all branches take industrial action at effective times.

2.    Conference believes that the actions of local branches are central to a successful dispute and sector-wide action should take place based on input from branches as to when action will be most effective.

Conference demands that:

a.     Effective dates for further industrial action for each branch are immediately identified.

b.    51¸£Àû must then notify the relevant employers of branches’ intent to take action based on when it is most effective, within legal timeframes.

c.     All future industrial action is informed by identifying the most effective times and form of action, with branches consulted well in advance of a ballot.

20ÌýÌýÌýÌý Striking out of teaching termÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý University of Leeds

SHESC believes employer intransigence on Four Fights necessitates maximised impact of strike action from staff in all roles.

SHESC notes:

1.    Strike action tends to be called only during term time.

2.    Major works such as IT upgrades are generally scheduled out of term, allowing the opportunity for strike action to have significant impact on academic related activities.

3.    Research funder deadlines and conferences are generally outside of term, allowing the opportunity for strike action to have significant impact on funders and visibility to international colleagues.

4.    Researchers who choose to strike are sacrificing their wages and outputs, with career implications, regardless of the date of strike action.

SHESC calls on HEC and officers to adopt a strategic approach to the Four Fights dispute which explicitly does not rule out the option of strike action at any time of year in consultation with branches who are asked to identify their own points of leverage.

21ÌýÌýÌýÌý Co-ordinating effective UK-wide actionÌýÌý University of Liverpool

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý SHESC believes:

1.    That a UK-wide, co-ordinated attack on assessment must be based on input from branches about the marking timetable that identifies when strike and ASOS most effectively target assessment in each branch.

2.    The Liverpool dispute (2021) showed that marking boycotts need to be complemented with sustained industrial action and need the full involvement of all members including those with no assessment roles.

SHESC resolves:

a.     To demand that an emergency meeting be held between branch officers and HEC, the General Secretary and UK Officers, to discuss effective dates for further industrial action.

b.    To ensure this dispensation is not limited to Liverpool but to all branches, granting them the autonomy to take action when it is most effective in this dispute.

c.     To ensure all future industrial action is informed by identifying the most effective times and dates for all local branches to take action against each employer.

22ÌýÌýÌýÌý Diversity in the sector  Queen Margaret University

Conference recognises 

1.   the importance of solidarity across the sector during an industrial dispute; 

2.   industrial action is most effective when targeted against employers; 

3.   the diversity within the sector, which leads to different challenges for branches taking industrial action; 

4.   there are four distinct national policies for higher education in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with different funding regimes, timetables, and governance structures; 

5.   the sector as a whole has surplus resources, bloated senior management and a plethora of vanity projects, but this is not the case for every institution, some of which are financially constrained;

6.   the size of institutions and 51¸£Àû branches varies considerably. 

This conference asserts that diversity in the sector is a strength to be protected and needs to be taken into account in industrial action taken over 4 fights, including consulting nations and branches and giving nations and branches more flexibility in the form and timing of industrial action. 

23ÌýÌýÌýÌý Maximum effective actionÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Edinburgh University

Conference notes:

1.    Decisions taken at previous Conferences to maintain the link between Four Fights and USS

2.    The pattern of days over Feb/Mar that did not reflect the above

3.    The number of branches who were striking in Reading Weeks and/or school holidays

Conference believes:

a.     We need to exert maximum force on the employers by having the maximum number of branches out at any one time

b.    Effective action is disruptive action

Conference resolves:

                 i.   To maintain the link between the two disputes until sufficient progress is made in one or both to justify separation

                ii.   To consult branches in detail as to which dates to avoid

               iii.   To allow limited local variation to minimise as far as possible strike action on unproductive days while maintaining maximum effective action overall.

 

Other strategy and consultation with branches and members

24ÌýÌýÌýÌý Call for a return to aggregated strike ballotsÌýÌýÌýÌý University of Southampton branch

51¸£Àû’s current strategy of running disaggregated ballots in UK-wide disputes has not recently been successful. In the 2021 Four Fights ballot only 54 branches initially met the threshold for action on an overall turnout of 51%. While aggregated ballots would have enabled industrial action across the sector, disaggregated ballots have enabled university leaders to characterise disputes as enjoying only the support of a minority. This weakens our negotiating hand, risks damaging solidarity across the sector, and weakens the public impact and media profile of the action.

Conference

1.    instructs HEC in future to make aggregated ballots the default position in future sector-wide industrial disputes

2.    resolves to provide support to branches with low turnouts to enable them to increase these.

25ÌýÌýÌýÌý Strategy after mandate runs outÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý University of Glasgow

Conference notes:

1.    Inflation measured by RPI is 8.2%, rising and has led to a cost of living crisis.

2.    Real term pay for 51¸£Àû members has fallen 20% since 2009.

3.    Recent strikes over pay, workload, casualisation, equality and USS have been well supported across those branches involved.

4.    The employers have made no movement at all on the ‘Four Fights’ and only a minor concession over USS.

Conference believes:

a.     These disputes can be won by consistent UK-wide action, meaning we need to find ways to involve all branches in industrial action

b.    We need a full debate in the union over the tactical advantages of aggregated vs. disaggregated ballots

Conference instructs HEC

                 i.   To develop a strategy urgently to increase the numbers of branches participating in industrial action

                ii.   To launch aggregated UK-wide ballots on pay and pensions after the next mandate expires if needed.

26ÌýÌýÌýÌý Remove the disaggregated turnout option in 51¸£Àû balloting ÌýÌýÌý Cardiff University

The 2016 Trade Union Act states that at least 50% of those entitled must vote in a ballot on strike action and a simple majority must vote in favour. The Act does not distinguish between a branch by branch turnout threshold and a UK-wide turnout threshold.

51¸£Àû admitted that the aggregate threshold at the first ballot exceeded 50% and this would have allowed every branch to take strike action.

Choosing whether to calculate the turnout on a disaggregated basis or on an aggregated basis amounts more to a political decision taken by the HESC than to technical/legislative constraints. This course of action undermined a basic employment right in a moment when collective action against cuts and casualisation is all the more necessary.

Conference asks the HEC to remove the option allowing for disaggregating the votes. It demands future balloting action be calculated on a sole UK-wide aggregated basis.

27ÌýÌýÌýÌý No decoupling of Four Fights from USSÌýÌý University of Brighton, Grand Parade

SHESC believes that

1.    51¸£Àû’s recent success in building the union has been centred on fighting over issues facing all sections of our membership such as casualisation and pay discrimination in addition to pensions and headline pay.

2.    This approach has led to increased involvement by members and a growth in solidarity across the union and is exemplified by the joint action over USS and Four Fights.Ìý

3.    Members have repeatedly expressed support for keeping the USS and Four Fights coupled.

SHESC resolves that there should be no decoupling of these disputes unless and until there is a settlement in one or other of them.

28ÌýÌýÌýÌý 51¸£Àû HE members to decide future HE strike actionÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý University of Ìý Bristol

HESC notes:

1.    51¸£Àû’s HEC ‘has the power to authorise or endorse sanctions including industrial action’ as regards our current HE disputes.

2.    Members were given an opportunity before the November 2021 BDM to deliberate on the timing of reballots, the timing of strike action and its duration.

HESC believes:

a.     Before HEC takes any decision regarding industrial action, it must consult with all HE members in branches with a mandate for strike action by e-consultation.

b.    Such a consultation of members would better inform HEC members and ensure that 51¸£Àû takes the most representative democratic decision possible.

HESC resolves:

                 i.   Before any decision on the timing or duration of strikes, HEC must consult with all members in branches with a mandate for strike action in an e-consultation.

                ii.   Any e-consultation must ask whether the member is willing to take further action, and what strike action, its timing, duration and nature, the member wishes to take.

29ÌýÌýÌýÌý Branch delegate meetingsÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Edinburgh University

Conference notes:

1.    Guidance on holding branch delegate meetings (BDMs)  

2.    That BDMs have not been called routinely during the course of the USS and Four Fights disputes prior to meetings of Higher Education Committee (HEC)

3.    That votes have not always been held at BDMs

Conference believes:

a.     That BDMs are essential to internal democracy, allowing members views to be expressed through their delegates

b.     That BDMs greatly enhance HEC’s ability to take key decisions that reflect and align with members’ views

Conference resolves:

                 i.   To take a much more robust approach to the use of BDMs

                ii.   To call a BDM before any HEC discussing the Four Fights dispute

               iii.   To circulate questions to branches sufficiently in advance

               iv.   To instruct HEC to take a strong steer from BDMs

30ÌýÌýÌýÌý Standard, adequate, and timely branch consultation ÌýÌý Durham University

Conference notes:

1.ÌýÌý Consultation with branches, including through Branch Delegates Meetings (BDMs), is vital to informing HEC decisions. It enables HEC to gauge members’ feelings on what actions they are willing to take and what they want from their elected representatives.

2.ÌýÌý Some HEC meetings have not been informed by BDMs.

3.ÌýÌý Some BDMs have been scheduled very soon after significant relevant information, such as ballot results, has been available to members. This has meant branch delegates haven’t had time before the BDM to adequately gauge members’ views considering the relevant information.

Conference resolves to:

a.     Hold a BDM prior to every HEC meeting to inform HEC decisions.

b.    Adopt a standard timeframe when BDMs/HEC meetings involve consultation after a significant recent development, such as ballot results, ensuring that BDMs are scheduled at least two working days after the relevant information is available to all members to allow for consultation.

31ÌýÌýÌýÌý UK-wide coordination of Four Fights with other Trade UnionsÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý University of Chester

Conference proposes:

a.     To urge the 51¸£Àû to call on all branches to coordinate campaigns with other JNCHES trade union branches, not least to identify areas of shared concerns rooted in the 51¸£Àû’s Four Fights.

b.    That the 51¸£Àû provide resources to facilitate this coordination where possible, including through regional offices and other trade union offices (examples of this could include assisting in setting up joint meetings at branch level and regionally).

c.     That all 51¸£Àû branches lobby in support of the 2022-23 JNCHES claim, working with other trade unions representing members at their institutions in order to identify further areas of shared concern.

Conference requests that the HESC (Higher Education Special Sector Conference) make coordination with other HE-sector trade unions a key component of the ongoing Four Fights strategy.

32ÌýÌýÌýÌý Trade Union CoordinationÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý University of Brighton, Moulsecoomb

Conference notes:

1.    51¸£Àû is one of a number of trade unions organising higher education workers and part of the JNCHES machinery.

2.    Unison has become more successful in disaggregated ballots and has struck alongside 51¸£Àû members this academic year.

3.    Justice for Workers, NUS and other student campaigns have also supported trade unions and continue to put pressure on our employers.

Conference believes:

a.     Members of all campus unions and students share common interests in fair pay, equality and quality of education.

b.    The most effective strike action involves shutting down university campuses and operations, which requires co-ordinated action between 51¸£Àû and other campus unions.

c.     Co-ordinated joint union and student action maximises leverage over the employers.

Conference resolves that HEC and HEC officers maximise the opportunities for joint action at UK-wide and local level between 51¸£Àû and other campus and student unions when deciding on industrial action dates, notifications and strategies.

33ÌýÌýÌýÌý Pay deductions for striking members with external fundingÌý Anti Casualisation Committee

Conference notes that:

1.    striking members whose salary is partly or wholly provided by external funders routinely experience full pay deductions

2.    funding contracts impose limitations on how awarded money may be allocated

3.    where deducted pay is not returned to the relevant project code this may represent a breach of said contracts

4.    where funding is returned to projects, it may be possible to extend projects and/or contracts of employment.

Conference resolves to:

a.     raise awareness of this issue amongst members through UK-wide communications

b.    develop advice on how externally funded members should query the allocation of deducted strike pay, with the objective of obtaining an extension but acknowledging that in some cases the return of funds to the funder may be the best possible outcome

c.     contact major funders to request that they supplement this guidance with official statements on the allocation of funds.

34ÌýÌýÌýÌý Student support as part of 4F campaignÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Swansea University

Conference notes that the 4F campaign was established before the pandemic, but it has increased the urgency of all aspects of the campaign. All aspects of work were impacted by demands of remote and hybrid working; by unpredictable absence due to infection and by the long term and yet to be quantified impacts Long Covid.Ìý Staff worked well beyond duties to keep universities running.

Students, have been impacted by the same issues as well as by missing A-Level exams and difficulties with beginning university life.

Students need more support but staff student ratios fell throughout the pandemic. Staff are expected to make up this deficit through emotional labour. This leads to a drastic shortfall in student engagement, increasing numbers of students struggling and even leaving the university. Similar issues and responses are emerging for staff. These issues should be tackled as part of the 4F campaign.

 

----------------

 

MOTION NOT ORDERED ONTO THE AGENDA

IÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Motion not considered to be within the business of the conference

B1ÌýÌýÌýÌý Concrete demandsÌýÌýÌý Queen Margaret University

Members are more convinced when a strike has concrete demands.

Concrete demands should be incorporated into the four fights. Eg

1.ÌýÌý Free Childcare available for staff and students as part of equalities claim.

2.ÌýÌý An extra £20billion or a percentage of annual surpluses to be spent on staffing throughout the sector to be distributed across the sector depending on needs of institutions, as part of the workload claim.

Funds for this will come from:

                 i.   university reserves (where they exist in plenty).

                ii.   Where universities are in debt to the banks and the wider private sector, universities must put an increase in staffing first. This should involve a 51¸£Àû campaign against private sector debt including the demand for universities to refuse to service or pay debts if it means that overwork is not solved.

               iii.   Short fall funded by the state as part of fully funded public education service.

 

II ÌýÌýÌýÌý Original text of composite motions

Composite motion 5

C1ÌýÌýÌýÌý ASOS and strike actionÌý University of Brighton, Grand Parade

SHESC notes

1.    The intransigence of the employers in the Four Fights dispute.

2.    The growing support for a marking and assessment boycott among members.

SHESC believes

a.     That a marking and assessment boycott can be an effective tactic.

b.    Branches must not be allowed to suffer punitive pay deductions in isolation.

SHESC calls on HEC to

                 i.   Initiate a marking and assessment boycott at the earliest opportunity in all branches with a mandate.

                ii.   Notify bouts of two weeks of strike action commencing in late May to support the ASOS.

               iii.   Call BDMs before notification of further action.

               iv.   Adopt the practice of notifying further bouts of action before the previous bout has concluded.

                v.   Make an emergency appeal inside and outside the union to boost the Fighting Fund.Ìý

C2ÌýÌýÌýÌý Motion on ASOS and strike action ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Dundee University

SHESC notes

1.    The intransigence of the employers over both HE disputes.

2.    The growing support for a marking and assessment boycott among members.

SHESC believes

a.     That a marking and assessment boycott can be an effective tactic

b.    Branches must not be allowed to suffer punitive pay deductions in isolation.

SHESC calls on HEC to

                 i.   Initiate a marking and assessment boycott at the earliest opportunity in all branches with a mandate

                ii.   Notify bouts of minimum 10 days of strike action commencing to correspond with UK-wide/regional schedules to support the ASOS

               iii.   Call BDMs before notification of further action

               iv.   Adopt the practice of notifying further bouts of action before the previous bout has concluded.

                v.   Make an emergency appeal inside and outside the union to boost the Fighting Fund for branches suffering punitive deductions.

C3ÌýÌýÌýÌý Four Fights: escalating ASOS and Strike Action Bournemouth University

SHESC notes

1.    the intransigence of the employers over both HE disputes.

2.    The growing support for a marking and assessment boycott among members.

SHESC believes:

a.     That a marking and assessment boycott can be an effective tactic.

b.    Branches must not be allowed to suffer punitive pay deductions in isolation.

SHESC calls on HEC to:

a.     Initiate a marking and assessment boycott at the earliest opportunity in all branches with a mandate.

b.    Notify bouts of 10 minimum days of strike action commencing in late May to support the ASOS.

c.     Adopt the practice of notifying further bouts of action before the previous bout has concluded.

C4ÌýÌýÌýÌý Marking boycott and further strike actionÌýÌýÌý University of Ulster

Special Higher Education Sector Conference notes:

1.    The intransigence of the employers over both HE disputes

2.    The growing support for a marking and assessment boycott among members

SHESC believes:

a.     That a marking and assessment boycott can be an effective tactic

b.    Branches must not be allowed to suffer punitive pay deductions in isolation

SHESC calls on HEC to:

                 i.   Initiate a marking and assessment boycott at the earliest opportunity in all branches with a mandate

                ii.   Notify bouts of two weeks of strike action commencing in late May to support the ASOS

               iii.   Call BDMs before notification of further action

               iv.   Adopt the practice of notifying bouts of action before the previous bout has concluded

                v.   Make an emergency appeal inside and outside the union to boost the Fighting Fund

C5ÌýÌýÌýÌý Effective industrial actionÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý University of Liverpool

SHESC notes:

1.    SHESC notes the intransigence of the employers over both HE disputes

2.    The growing support for a marking and assessment boycott among members.

SHESC believes:

a.     That a marking and assessment boycott can be an effective tactic

b.    Branches must not be allowed to suffer punitive pay deductions in isolation.

SHESC calls on HEC to:

                 i.   Initiate a marking and assessment boycott at the earliest opportunity in all branches with a mandate

                ii.   Notify bouts of ten days of strike action commencing in late May to support the ASOS

               iii.   Adopt the practice of notifying further bouts of action before the previous bout has concluded.

 

Appendix: Principles for the conduct of business online

The agenda

1.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Motions and amendments for this conference meeting are those submitted by the published deadlines.

2.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý The Congress business committee will order motions and amendments for debate.

3.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý No emergency motions will be accepted during the course of the sector conference meeting.

4.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý The conference will be asked to adopt the agenda as circulated in CBC’s second report. This vote will be conducted by on-line ballot prior to the opening of the first session of the conference.

5.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý No business that does not appear on the agenda will be brought before the conference.

Conduct of business

6.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý The chair of the sector conference shall be as set out in the Congress standing orders. The quorum for the conference shall be as set out in the Congress standing orders.

7.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý All delegates who wish to speak in the debate of motions, including movers and seconders of motions, shall give advance notice of their wish to speak, including an indication of whether they will speak for or against a motion, in accordance with instructions issued by 51¸£Àû head office, which will include a deadline for such notification. The submission of a request to speak in a debate does not guarantee that a delegate will be called to speak. The chair will order and call speakers with due regard to a balanced debate, the participation of different delegates across the conference, and the time available.

8. ÌýÌýÌýÌý Movers of motions shall be allowed three minutes, and all other speakers two minutes. At the discretion of the chair these times may be reduced. Speakers shall introduce themselves by their name and the branch or other body that they represent.

9.ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý The movers of motions shall have a right of reply which will be exercised at the close of the debate on that motion or group of motions.

10.ÌýÌýÌý No points of order, points of information, or procedural motions (that the question be now put; that the meeting proceeds to next business) or challenges to the chair shall be taken at the conference.

11.ÌýÌýÌý A motion to remit any motion on the agenda to the NEC (or HEC or FEC as appropriate) shall be taken only if advance notice of the motion to remit has been received in accordance with point 7 above.

12.ÌýÌýÌý It shall not be in order for any participant on the floor of, or addressing, Conference, to utter or display offensive language (including discriminatory language) or criticisms of individual Union employees or individual members who have no right to address Conference and complaints against whom should be pursued through properly established procedures. In the event that any of these occur, the Chair shall immediately ask the participant to withdraw the remarks and apologise to the Conference and the individual(s) concerned. If the participant refuses to do this, or persists thereafter, the Chair shall exclude that individual (or individuals) from the rest of the Conference proceedings. (Congress standing order 36).

Voting on motions

13.ÌýÌýÌý Voting on motions shall take place after the close of the Congress meeting, by means of a secure on-line ballot.

Technical issues

14.ÌýÌýÌý The decisions of the meeting shall not be invalidated by reason of any individual member’s difficulty in participating for reasons of broadband, software or hardware failure.

Suspension of the on-line event

15.ÌýÌýÌý The chair shall have the discretion to suspend the on-line conference in the event of disorder or serious technical failure.