51福利/2093听听 May 2023听听
Carlow
Street, London NW1 7LH, Tel. 020 7756 2500, www.ucu.org.uk
To听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Branch and local association secretaries
Topic听听听听听听听听听听听听 Unconfirmed minutes, Special Further Education Sector Conference, 1 April 2023
Action听听听听听听听听听听 For adoption
Summary 听听听听听 Minutes of the decisions made by the Special Further Education Sector Conference, 1 April 22023
Contact听听听听听听听听 Paul
Bridge, Head of Further Education (David Bussell, Head Office Administrator/minutes
dbussell@ucu.org.uk)
Draft unconfirmed minutes
SPECIAL FURTHER EDUCATION SECTOR CONFERENCE, Online
1
Opening Business
1.1
Maxine Looby, the Chair,
introduced herself, welcomed delegates to the conference, and called the meeting
to order.
1.2
The Chair called delegates鈥�
attention to the agenda, which had been circulated in advance of the meeting.
She explained that members had been asked to speak to the motions, and made it
clear how this process would be conducted.
1.3
The Chair explained that the
voting on motions would take place after the conference by e-ballot.
1.4
The Chair explained that the
meeting would be recorded by video for the purposes of the minutes.
1.5
The Chair explained that the chat
function would not be made available.
1.6
The Chair explained the following
rules for the conference:
路
There will be no challenges to the Chair.
路
Business is a closed session.
路
Business is confidential.
1.7
The Chair called a
vote to accept the principals of the conduct of business. The results were as
follows: For: 86, Against: 0, Abstentions: 1. Thus the principals of business were
ADOPTED.
1.8
The Chair called a vote for
adopting the Special FESC agenda (51福利2083). The results were as follows: For: 82,
Against: 0, Abstentions: 5. Thus the agenda was ADOPTED.
2
Report from Jo Grady, General Secretary
2.1
The GS
gave a speech about the importance of improving our working lives, and how
valuable it was delegates had come together for this session to plan out the
new few years of 51福利 campaigning.
2.2
The GS
gave a shout out to Norwich City College branch, who were a fantastic example
of what we could achieve as a union, having won a ballot with an 80% yes vote
for taking industrial action. David Hunter had been a big part of that success
with this seven-year plan.
2.3
The GS
reminded delegates to make sure they were registered for Congress in May.
3
Report of the Congress Business Committee (CBC)
3.1
The CBC Vice-Chair, Hazel Raven, introduced
herself.
3.2
The CBC Vice-Chair presented the
second report of the CBC (51福利2083), noting that the motions therein had been
considered with an eye on the rules.
3.3
The CBC Vice-Chair wished
delegates solidarity and asked that they leave less room for interpretation in
future motions.
3.4
The Chair thanked Hazel and the
rest of the CBC for their hard work.
3
Report from Paul Bridge, Head of Bargaining, Head
of Further Education
3.1
Paul Bridge thanked members for their
commitment to 51福利 and to their branch members. He wished solidarity to all of
the FE branches in dispute or taking action. He
flagged the excellent work taking place in AE and ESOL and said 51福利 would
continue to support our members at this challenging time.
3.2
Paul set out how the business of the day would
shape 51福利鈥檚 work for the coming year and beyond.
3.3
Paul spoke about the excellent level of
engagement with the consultation (around 9000 FE members).
3.4
Paul discussed ballot options linked to the
motion, laying out the pros and cons of a local of nationally coordinated disaggregated
ballots and nationally aggregated ballots.
3.5
Paul wished all delegates well and looked
forward to the debate and the decisions made by FESC.
4
Debate of Motions
4.1
Vice-Chair
Richard McEwan explained the consequentials of today鈥檚 motions. The moving of
motions then took place:
4.2
Amendment
1A.1, New City College (THC Poplar), was moved by Richard McEwan:
Add new
note 5: The 87% vote for strike action on a 51% turnout in the consultation
ballot.
Add new
believes E: The result of the consultation ballot was the first time in 51福利鈥檚
history that an FE ballot got over 50%.
Add new
resolves ii.: To organise an England-wide ballot starting at the beginning of
May 2023 lasting for 6 weeks
The
results were as follows:
Votes in favour 50, Votes against 60, Registered abstentions 1.
Thus Amendment 1A.1 FELL.
Motion 1 Composite, Further
education committee, City of Bristol College, City and Islington College Camden
Rd, New City College (THC Poplar): For an FE aggregated ballot Further
education committee, City of Bristol College was moved by Sean Vernell:
SFESC
notes:
1. The RPI
rate of inflation currently stands at 12%.
2.
Decline of physical and mental health of staff in FE, including due to
excessive workload.
3.
Further Education Colleges have recently been reclassified as part of the
public sector.
4. The
biggest wave of industrial action seen for a generation.
SFESC
believes that:
a. We
need a fully-funded pay award for FE that at least matches inflation.
b. The
level of stress due to excessive workload has reached such a high level, it鈥檚
putting workers鈥� physical and mental health at risk.
c. The
reclassification of FE as part of the public sector offers the opportunity to
level up funding of colleges with schools and to provide a binding bargaining
framework.
d. We
need England-wide action involving all FE branches to be able to secure more
funding for FE and to be able to level up the sector.
SFESC
resolves:
i.
Support the call for an aggregated ballot of all branches in England.
The results were as follows:
Votes in favour 54, Votes against 54, Registered abstentions 2.
Thus Motion 1 FELL.
Amendment 2A.1, City and Islington College
Camden Road, was moved by Sean Vernell and
seconded by Juliana Ojinnaka:
Delete Notes 5 and add: 'A successful aggregated
ballot would build upon the coordinated action taken over the last five years.'
Delete 'towards a future' and ' turnout of 50%'.
Add the word 'an' before FE and 'significant' before
'turnout'. The new sentence to read, 'To build an FE England aggregated ballot,
and move to ballot only when a consultation reaches a significant turnout'
The results were as follows:
Votes in favour 56, Votes against 53, Registered abstentions 4.
Thus Amendment 2A.1 was CARRIED.
Amendment 2A.2, City of Liverpool College, City branch, was moved by Carol Cody and seconded by Nina Doran:
Add to FESC resolves
To organise lunchtime briefings to support all branches to start to
organise their members for next steps in the campaign to secure the national
aggregate ballot
f. for branches to pair up within their regions up to support their
campaigning activities
The results were as follows:
Votes in favour 59, Votes against 48, Registered abstentions 6.
Thus Amendment 2A.2 was CARRIED.
Motion 2, Local bargaining as part of an FE England
co-ordinated campaign - The Manchester College, was moved Janet Farrar and seconded by Ray Tostevin:
FESC notes:
1.
FE pay has fallen
by 30%+ since 2009 and the 拢9k pay gap with school and 6th form teachers widens
2.
we don't currently
have meaningful England-wide bargaining in FE
3.
the significant
#RespectFE deals won in England and the NW
4.
the importance of
building on our achievements
5.
the binding nature
of an aggregated ballot and potential undermining of branch autonomy and good
local pay deals
6.
the hostile environment
for trade unions created by the Tory government, particularly since the
anti-Trade Union Act.
FESC resolves:
a.
to continue to
focus on recruitment and organisation within FE, in particular moribund
branches and branches with sub-100 members
b.
to increase the
number of branches active in #RespectFE campaign
c.
to use industrial
leverage to secure meaningful FE England bargaining on pay and workload
d.
to build towards a
future FE England aggregated ballot, and to move to ballot only following a consultation
which reaches a turnout over 50%.
The results were as follows:
Votes in favour 67, Votes against 43, Registered abstentions 4.
Thus the amended Motion 2 was
CARRIED.
Motion 3, No automatic move to
aggregated ballot without strong membership support, Oldham College, was moved by Eve Sheppard 听
FESC congratulates all branches fighting back
in FE and winning for members.
33 branches smashed the Tory anti trade unions laws
last year as part of the Respect FE campaign along with branches in the North
West in the regionally coordinated campaign.
FESC notes:
1. the progress made in in recent years - branches are
stronger, better organised, growing in membership and winning disputes.
FESC believes:
a. an FE England aggregate ballot has a strong appeal
and should be considered as part of our strategy
b. previous England-wide aggregate ballots in FE did
not secure wins for members
c. moving to an FE England aggregate ballot too soon
could take the union and branches backwards.
FESC resolves:
i.
there should be no
automatic move to an FE England aggregate ballot following the members' consultation
ii.
that 51福利 should not
proceed with any FE England aggregate ballot where the turnout in the member
consultative e-ballot is below 60%
The results were as follows:
Votes in favour 61, Votes against 48, Registered abstentions 7.
Thus Motion 3 was CARRIED.
Amendment 4A.1, City of Liverpool College,
City branch, was moved by Carol Cody and
seconded by Nina Doran:
Add
iii.
any negotiations with the AoC must include all the
elected officers to negotiate nationally.
iv.
iv. any offer must be discussed at FEC before the
officers recommend to members.
The results were as follows:
Votes in favour 84, Votes against 19, Registered abstentions 10.
Thus Amendment 4A.1 was CARRIED.
Motion 4, Building to win FE England
bargaining - Colchester Institute, was moved
by Simon Warne and seconded by Tom Lynds:
Conference notes:
1. the success of the Respect FE strategy in gaining
specific wins for branches
2. the re-classification of FE to be part of the
public sector
3. the lack of a framework for binding England-wide
pay bargaining in FE.
Conference believes:
a. industrial action delivers gains for members
b. industrial action is most effective when it is
co-ordinated collectively across branches
c. FE England aggregated strike action will only be
effective when the FE sector has a system of binding England-wide pay
bargaining.
Conference resolves:
i.
there should be a
priority of time and resource to campaign for a system of binding FE England
pay bargaining
ii.
there should be a
consultation with branches and members before decisions are made to move away
from the current Respect FE strategy to an aggregated ballot.
The results were as follows:
Votes in favour 72, Votes against 33, Registered abstentions 10.
Thus the amended Motion 4 was CARRIED.
Motion 5, Building to win FE pay bargaining
- Eastern and home counties regional committee, was moved by Peter Monaghan and seconded by David Hunter:
Conference notes:
1. the success of branches that have won gains for
their members using the Respect FE strategy
2. real and binding England-wide pay bargaining in FE
does not exist
3. the re-classification of FE to be now part of the
public sector.
Conference believes:
a. strike action (or the threat of) delivers gains for
members
b. strike action is most effective when it is
co-ordinated collectively across branches
c. FE England aggregated strike action will not be
effective until FE has a system of binding England-wide pay bargaining.
Conference resolves:
i.
in light of the
re-classification of FE to be now part of the public sector campaign for real
and binding England-wide pay bargaining in FE
ii.
there should be no
aggregated ballot until the above campaign has been given sufficient time and
resources to achieve its aim, at minimum at least 1 year and this decision has
been put to a sector conference.
The results were as follows:
Votes in favour 66, Votes against 46, Registered abstentions 4.
Thus the Motion 5 was CARRIED.
Amendment 6A.1, Capital City College Group,
Westminster Kingsway, was moved by Regine Pilling and
seconded by Elaine White:
Add new notes 4: 'The sovereign democratic body in
51福利 is congress and sector conferences.'
Delete the words 'in the future' in conference
resolves E.
Delete resolves F. and add new resolves F, 'To
ensure that all branches abide by democratically arrived at decisions made by
FE sector conferences.'
The results were as follows:
Votes in favour 53, Votes against 47 Registered abstentions 10.
Thus Amendment 6A.1 was CARRIED.
Conference notes:
1. The strategic aim of 51福利 to return to meaningful FE England pay bargaining.
2. The success in securing significant deals as part of the Respect FE campaign.
3. The primacy of the branch as the principal organising unit within 51福利.
Conference resolves:
a. To launch a recruitment and capacity building drive within FE.
b. To increase the number of branches actively participating in the Respect FE campaign.
c. To maximise, consolidate and publicise the number of branches securing victories.
d. To centre FE within 51福利 messaging, political and public engagement.
e. To have a sober examination of the objective conditions surrounding the possibility of an FE England aggregated ballot in the future.
f. To give due weight to the individual decisions of branches at all times.
g. To mirror and improve upon best organising and industrial relations practice within the union movement.
The results were as follows:
Votes in favour 53, Votes against 47 Registered abstentions 10.
Thus the amended Motion 6 was CARRIED.
Amendment 7A.1, Trafford College Group, was moved by Kathryn Sherry:
Under
鈥淔ESC Resolves鈥�
'Delete'
鈥渋. That all FE branches are authorised to opt in, and opt out of, any FE
England statutory ballot in any FE England pay campaign/dispute.鈥�
'Replace鈥�
with 鈥渋. That for all FE branches there shall be a mechanism determined by FE
officers for exclusion from any FE England statutory ballot in any FE England pay
campaign/dispute - where there may be a detrimental impact on local
negotiations, disputes or campaigns.鈥�
The results were as follows:
Votes in favour 53, Votes against 48 Registered abstentions 11.
Thus Amendment 7A.1 was CARRIED.
Amendment 7A.2, The Manchester College, was moved by
Janet Farrar and seconded by Jonathan Gilmour:
Under 鈥淔ESC Resolves鈥�
Delete 鈥渋ii. Shall retain the right to negotiate and
settle agreements on pay and conditions with their employers with no FE England
imposed thresholds or ratification criteria.鈥�
Replace
with 鈥渋ii. That all FE branches shall retain the right to negotiate and settle
agreements on pay and conditions with their employers under the national
Respect FE framework. If binding FE England pay bargaining is in place, the
appropriate ratification process shall be followed.鈥�
The results were as follows:
Votes in favour 56, Votes against 45 Registered abstentions 9.
Thus Amendment 7A.2 was CARRIED.
1.
That
most branches engaged in local pay negotiations this year improved pay and
working conditions for members 鈥� with many achieving significant victories.
FESC
believes:
a.
That
FE branches are best placed to decide on local tactics and strategy.
b.
That
local democratic control by members ensures that FE England pay campaigns are
strongly supported by members, leading to real victories. That ongoing local
negotiations, disputes, and campaigns should not be jeopardized by any FE
England ballot.
FESC
resolves that all FE branches:
i. are authorised to opt in, and opt out of,
any FE England statutory ballot in any FE England pay campaign/dispute.
ii. are authorised to decide the timing of
strike action with their employers in any FE England pay campaign/dispute.
iii. shall retain the right to negotiate and
settle agreements on pay and conditions with their employers with no FE England
imposed thresholds or ratification criteria.
The results were as follows:
Votes in favour 68, Votes against 42 Registered abstentions 6.
Thus the amended Motion 7 was CARRIED.
Motion 8, For
continued local pay negotiation and disputes, Kendal College, was moved
formally:
Conference notes and welcomes the progress made by branches locally in pursuing pay claims with their employers.
Conference believes that there is no mechanism to secure an FE England binding agreement.
Conference, therefore, commits to continuing the current approach of supporting branches to use local disputes as a source of leverage with college employers. The tactics in these local disputes to be determined by affected members.
The results were as follows:
Votes in favour 50, Votes against 53 Registered abstentions 8.
Thus Motion 8 FELL.
Motion 9, Campaign for parity with sixth form
colleges, The Manchester College, was moved by
Jonathan Gilmour and seconded by Janet Farrar:
FESC notes:
1. 6th form
colleges and colleges in Wales have national agreements way more favourable
than FE.
2. Students at
6th form college are taught by a teachers on more
money with fewer teaching hours.
3. It still
should be an aspiration of all FE colleges to have agreed England-wide terms
and conditions through England-wide bargaining.
4. The teaching
staff in FE must be treated fairly.
5. This
resolution is to extend the Respect FE agenda.
FESC
resolves:听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听
a. That 51福利
start an FE England campaign, including advertising, that brings FE to the fore
because of its essential role in training young people for work in this era of
skills shortages.
b. To launch a
campaign to lobby parliament and the DFE England
c. Colleagues
to write to MPs including the Education Secretary to ask for FE to be better
funded, staff to be treated fairly and given conditions of employment the same
as those in 6th form colleges.
The results were as follows:
Votes in favour 103, Votes against 6 Registered abstentions 2.
Thus Motion 9 was CARRIED.
5
Closing Business
5.1
Richard McEwan offered
solidarity to all. He explained how the voting system would work: with unique
links to be sent to all delegates for the purpose of e-ballot voting. This will
be performed in two rounds to allow for voting on amendments. Richard reminded
delegates of the deadlines for voting.
The meeting closed at 13:02.