51¸£Àû

51¸£Àû/2088 ÌýMay 2023ÌýÌý

University and College Union

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

ToÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Branch and local association secretaries

TopicÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Unconfirmed minutes, further education sector conference, Congress, 2 June 2022

ActionÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý For adoption at annual further education sector conference 2023

Summary ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Minutes of the decisions made by the further education conference, 2 June 2022

 

Draft unconfirmed minutes

FURTHER EDUCATION SECTOR CONFERENCE, Online

 

1             Opening Business

1.1         Janet Farrar, the Chair, introduced herself, welcomed delegates to the conference, and called the meeting to order.

1.2         The Chair asked for a check to make sure the meeting was quorate. This was CONFIRMED.

1.3         The Chair paid a final tribute to Nita Sanghera, Immediate Past President and former member of the officers’ team, who passed away in 2020.

1.4         The Chair explained the workings of the conference platform, how to speak to motions, the rules of conduct, and how to cast votes. A test vote was then carried out to ensure the system was fully operational.

1.5         The Chair explained that the meeting was being recorded for the purpose of recording minutes, and that this recording wouldn’t be shared outside of 51¸£Àû. She made it clear that no outside recording was allowed.

1.6         The Chair let members know that the FE Pay Negotiators vote was now open, and reminded them to place their vote before 16:00.

1.7         The Chair called a vote for adopting the FESC agenda (51¸£Àû2038). The results were as follows: For: 40, Against: 0, Abstentions: 3. Thus the agenda was ADOPTED.

2             Report of the Congress Business Committee (CBC)

2.1         The Vice-Chair of CBC, Hazel Raven, introduced herself.

2.2         The CBC Vice-Chair reported that all motions had been included in the agenda. She noted that 14 motions did not represent a good number in terms of country-wide participation. We have a duty to up that.

2.3         The CBC Vice-Chair noted that the Child Q motion had been renumbered B18 and remitted to Congress.

2.4         The Chair thanked Robert Clunas for his service, and noted that he was retiring from the CBC.

2.5         The Chair called a vote for adopting the report of the CBC. The results were as follows: For: 42, Against: 0, Abstentions: 1. Thus the report was ADOPTED.

3             Report from Jon Hegerty, Head of Bargaining, Organising, Campaigns and Education

3.1         Jon Hegerty addressed the Conference. He gave a brief overview of the events in FE over the last 12 months.

3.2         Jon Hegerty thanked Andrew Harden for all of his hard work and wished him well in the future.

3.3         Jon Hegerty thanked Janet Farrar for her work.

4             Debate of Motions

FE1, FE England pay report, was moved by Jackie D’Arcy on behalf of the Further Education Committee, and seconded by Richard McEwan, City and Islington College / Further Education Committee.

Conference approves the report on the FE England 2021/22 pay round and progress in the 2022/23 round as circulated in FE branch circular 51¸£ÀûBANFE/22.

Motion FE1 was CARRIED.

FE2, Pay and workload – organising to win was moved by Richard McEwan, London Regional FE Sector Committee, and formally seconded.

Conference notes: 

1.    The increase in workload, casualisation, managerialism and cut in wages in real terms across the sector. 

2.    This year’s campaign over pay and workload. 

3.    All those branches that took strike action in defence of pay and conditions. 

4.    The real gains that those branches achieved. 

Conference believes that: 

a.     The ‘professional respect’ campaign over pay and workload is an important step in the right direction. 

b.    Strike action and sometimes the threat of strike action delivers real gains for our members. 

c.     The most effective way in winning better pay and conditions is through collective action. 

d.    To level up we need to be able to launch national action involving all branches.

Conference resolves:

 i.      To organise a one-day organising conference on a Saturday for all branches entitled, ‘Building effective campaigning branches’.

 ii.      Invite those within the sector who have had success at winning to share their experiences. 

Motion FE2 was CARRIED.

FE3, Supporting branches to pursue national priorities through local collective agreements was moved by Brian Hamilton, Further Education Committee, and formally seconded by the Chair.

Conference notes that branches have secured collective agreements on the unions' national priorities of reducing casualisation, closing the equality pay gap and reducing workloads. These collective agreements deliver real improvements for our members.

Conference reiterates the priority status of these issues across the UK and calls on FEC to:

1.     accelerate work to support and empower our branches to pursue local claims in relation to casualisation, the gender pay gap and workloads

2.     Ensure that our local bargaining and national bargaining agendas support each other

3.     ensure that bargaining guidance and campaign packs are worked into appropriate training resources

4.     ensure the delivery of branch briefings and training events tailored to these priority issues

5.     ensure that agreements and success stories are shared and publicised throughout the union.

Motion FE3 was CARRIED.

FE4, Teaching and learning support - pay and workload was moved by Delmena Doyle, Croydon College, and seconded by John Fones, South West Regional Committee.

This conference notes the increase in union membership of teaching and learning support workers in many FE colleges. We applaud the role they have played in recent pay plus campaigns at Croydon College in making the case for pay and career progression pathways for support staff.

This conference recognises that there is more that needs to be done to ensure that staff in this vital area of provision are properly rewarded, are able to develop careers and participate fully in progressive and meaningful professional development.

This Conference resolves to include Teaching and learning support in 51¸£Àû pay, workload and professionalism campaign and to call a special meeting of Teaching and learning.

Motion FE4 was CARRIED.

FE5, Disability and the FE Charter, was moved by Pat Roche, Disabled Members Standing Committee, and seconded by Cecily Blyther, Further Education Committee.

Conference applauds the launch of the FE Charter for Professional Respect in Further Education and notes that equity for disabled workers in FE has a long way to go.

Conference notes:

1. That many disabled workers are employed on insecure contracts

2. That the TUC puts the Disability Pay Gap at 20%; this places disabled workers on average, earning £3,500 less than non-disabled colleagues

3. That many employers have used the pandemic to justify their failure of duty to implement the necessary reasonable adjustments required

Conference therefore instructs the FEC, to include as part of the FE Charter to:

a. Negotiate with employers to undertake disability pay gap reporting including targeted action plans to address the pay gap

b. Ensure that reasonable adjustments are made in a timely manner

c. Make equality of opportunity a priority, so disabled workers are able to contribute on an equal footing with non-disabled colleagues.

Motion FE5 was CARRIED.

FE6, Full Recruitment crisis in FE, was moved by Sean Vernell, City and Islington College / Further Education Committee, and formally seconded.

Conference notes:

1.  The AoC’s report into the staffing crisis in FE revealed that there are 6,000 job vacancies in England’s colleges.

The report found:

a.     96% of respondents say that the current level of vacancies is increasing pressure on staff.

b.      61% said colleges were having to spend more on agency fees to fill vacancies.

c.     Private sector pay has increased by 5.4%, public sector by 2.5% and education sector pay by 0.3% (with most of that outside of FE).

Conference believes:

 i.   ÌýÌý This is the worst staffing crisis in twenty years.

 ii.   Ìý That the government’s aim of making FE central to the ‘build back better’ strategy will not be achieved if the staffing crisis isn’t resolved.

Conference resolves:

A.    To call on government to release further funds to increase wages to attract staff to the sector.

B.    To call on the AoC to recommend employers direct resources into increasing pay and decreasing workload.

Motion FE6 was CARRIED.

FE7, Casualisation of Black members and pay, was moved by Julianna Ojinnaka, Black Members Committee, and formally seconded by the Chair.

Conference notes that:

1.    Casualisation of members means they do not have permanent contracts, e.g., recognised as full members of staff, guaranteed hours of work each year, paid the full hours they have worked, including preparation, teaching or marking.  

2.    They have to wait months to get paid, meaning no planned future or mortgage. There’s no holiday pay or training.

3.    The barriers and obstacles faced by Black casualised members is intensified by structural inequalities and racism, acutely felt by Black women. This intersection of oppression puts Black casualised members at the bottom of the pay ladder. Increased costs of living, means that they are faced with extreme poverty as they cannot afford to eat or heat their homes.

Conference resolves:

a.     That 51¸£Àû will research the pay of Black casualised workers in further and adult education, leading to a campaign to alleviate the poverty they face.

Motion FE7 was CARRIED.

FE8, Precarious contracts in FE and the Organising Agenda was moved by Saleem Rashid, Sheffield College / Anti-Casualisation Committee, and formally seconded by the Chair.

Conference notes:

1.    At least 60% of colleges use zero-hours contracts to deliver education.  Many staff in further, adult and prison education hold down multiple jobs and visit foodbanks (51¸£Àû 2019).  Since this research was carried out, the committee has anecdotal evidence this situation has become worse.  Eg, Abingdon and Witney College now offers staff access to the students’ foodbank. 

2.       In the ACC’s recent ‘teach-out’, members recounted deterioration and increasing fragmentation of their work situation, including using education students as unpaid teachers.  This event helped to increase FE representation on ACC.

Conference resolves to:

a.     provide organisational support to recruiting members and developing branches within FE, using the Build The Union toolkit;

b.    develop and publish a plan to encourage more participation of FE members in 51¸£Àû structures, from branches up to national committees, in order to more effectively fight casualisation;

c.     provide tailor-made training for activists at branch/region level.

Motion FE8 was CARRIED.

FE9, Mock OFSTEDs and Stress was moved by Jackie D’Arcy, West Midlands Regional FE Sector Committee and seconded by Pete Bicknell, Lewisham College.

Conference notes:

1.    the adverse impact the pandemic has had on educational staff and students 

2.    a failure in many leaders in FE to put in suitable and sufficient control measures to protect staff and students from undue stress, anxiety and a poor mental health

3.    FE leaders are carrying out ‘Mocksted’ observations which are causing undue stress, anxiety, illness and a decline in mental health as well an increase in absences

Conference resolves:

a.     to advise, support and give guidance to branches under scrutiny by ‘Mocksted’

b.    to look at the hazards of Mocksteds from a health and safety perspective focussing on mental health and stress

c.     to lobby Ofsted naming FE Branches who do not take the impact of Mocksteds on mental health into account

d.    to go public with the impact of Mocksteds on mental health as well as the financial implications

Motion FE9 was CARRIED.

FE10, Invisible FE women and the pandemic was moved by Julianna Ojinnaka Women Members Standing Committee, and formally seconded by the Chair.

 

The pandemic has rendered women and those with protected characteristics invisible in FE.  Post pandemic changes can modify and improve lives.  Cholera led to clean, safe water, Influenza to the concept of public health.  However, there is little evidence to suggest that a post pandemic world will be any more equal for all women than before.  Whilst the pandemic has focused upon health issues, little has been uttered about the socio-economic effects upon women in general and those with protected characteristics in particular.

The WMSC believe that the post pandemic world has cloaked women in FE with invisibility at their intersectionality, especially when combined with precarious contracts and lack of representation in positions of power.  

We call upon 51¸£Àû to:

1.    Conduct an audit of the gender pay gap and casualisation in FE

2.    Construct a bargaining position similar to the 4Fights.

David Hunter proposed we take this motion in parts. Asked to consider each resolution (call upon 1 & 2) separately. The results were as follows: For: 19, Against: 22, Abstentions: 2. Thus the proposal was FELL.

Motion FE10 was CARRIED.

FE11, Protecting Older Workers in FE was moved by Peter Evans, LGBT+ Members Standing Committee, seconded by Saleem Rashid, Sheffield College, and CARRIED;

Conference notes:

72% of UK FE workforce are women.

Menopause can have a significant effect on mental/physical health. Currently support offered is aimed at heterosexual and cis women. 

FE teaching can be demanding with high levels of pastoral care, this can be challenging for older teachers. Burnout-induced early retirement leads to loss of skills/knowledge.

Older LGBT+ workers in FE can be impacted by the intersection of age, gender/sexuality making them more vulnerable to discrimination.

Evidence of 

1.     health inequalities between older LGBT+ people and other older people, e.g., non-heterosexual men aged 50+ have lower life satisfaction and are more likely to have attempted suicide; 

2.     a higher prevalence of poor mental health in older LGBT+ people.

Conference agrees to:

a.      develop LGBT+ specific menopause resources for FE staff

b.     investigate options for older staff who want to carry on working 

c.     commission research into issues facing older LGBT+ staff in FE

Motion FE11 was CARRIED.

FE12, Qualification Validation - the need for meaningful stable study programs, was moved by Delmena Doyley, Croydon College, was seconded by Margot Hill, Further Education Committee.

This conference notes an ongoing trend in Further Education of constant in-term shifts and changes in qualification awarding bodies, re-validations and emergency awards and certifications. Conference agrees that these shifts are driven by Managerial anxiety about success data, not by pedagogical and learning requirements and very rarely benefit the students in any meaningful way.

Conference notes existing policy on progressive and meaningful education provision and resolves to mount a campaign to stop the use of meaningless curriculum shifts changes and additions that do not provide educational benefit to students and serve only to increase workload and massage management statistics.

Motion FE12 was CARRIED.

FE13, HE provision in FE colleges was moved by Chris Jones (Further Education Committee), on behalf of The Manchester College, and seconded by Mick Dawson, Brooklands College.

Conference notes: 

1.    FE institutions are increasingly offering HE courses. These are often written and delivered by college staff but accredited by universities. 

2.    FE institutions appear to be taking on the trappings of HE, without improving the terms and conditions of employment of those delivering the provision. 

3.    HE in FE staff are generally as qualified and experienced as their colleagues working in universities.  

4.    HE in FE staff usually have almost double the contact time than their HE counterparts and their specialisms are under-valued.  

5.    Academic and Professional Development and engagement with the academic community are particularly difficult.   

Conference asks the FEC to: 

a.     Commission research or conduct a Freedom of Information request into the volume and type of HE provision being offered in FE institutions. 

b.    Support a campaign as part of the Professional Respect charter to improve HE in FE staff terms, conditions and pay to work towards parity with HE counterparts. 

Motion FE13 was CARRIED.

FE14, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Datafication was moved by Stewart Fraser, Further Education Committee, and formally seconded by the Chair.

FESC notes:

1.    Increased technology use in FE during the pandemic, and therefore in the amount of data our employers hold on members.

2.    Data Protection Impact Assessments should be carried out when implementing new systems using workers’ personal data, but unions are not consulted about them.

3.    The TUC working group on AI, which produced the Reps Guide on AI.

FESC believes:

AI can be useful but mustn’t infringe on workers’ rights or discriminate against individuals and must be fully accessible and user friendly.

FESC resolves to:

a.     Set up an expert group on AI and datafication bringing together 51¸£Àû members in the field to identify threats and opportunities in both sectors and make recommendations on 51¸£Àû AI policy.

b.    Establish the role of a Data Rep in each branch.

 

David Hunter proposed we take this motion in parts. Asked to consider each resolution (a & b) separately. The results were as follows: For: 13, Against: 33, Abstentions: 1. Thus the proposal was FELL.

Motion FE14 was CARRIED.

5          Election of National Pay Negotiators

5.1     The Chair let members know that the election results would be known in due course.

6          Any Other Business

6.1     Conference weas asked to adopt 51¸£Àû/2024. The paper was ADOPTED.

7          Close of Business

7.1     The Chair reminded delegates that a discussion session would follow the formal business of FESC: Organising to Win in FE.

7.2     The Chair thanked delegates and staff.

7.3     It being the end of business, the Chair thanked delegates for a successful FESC, and closed the Conference.