51福利/570?? March 2014??
Carlow
Street, London NW1 7LH, Tel. 020 7756 2500, www.ucu.org.uk
To?????????????????? Branch and local association
secretaries
Topic????????????? Unconfirmed minutes, Higher Education
sector conference
Action??????????? for approval; for adoption
Summary ???? unconfirmed minutes of the HE sector conference which took
place at 51福利’s Congress in Brighton, May 2013???? ?????????
Contact????????? Michael MacNeil, National Head of Bargaining and
Negotiations
??????????????????????
Meeting of the Higher Education
Sector Conference – 29 May 2013
Brighton Centre
Unconfirmed minutes
1 Opening business
1.1 The Chair called sector conference to order. Introductions were made and delegates were apprised of housekeeping matters. The meeting was quorate.
1.2 The Chair reminded conference delegates that emergency motions would need the signatures of 10 distinct delegations (not including NEC members) to be considered by CBC.
1.3
The Chair was asked by
1.4 The Chair replied that this had been an experimental response to some complaints regarding compulsory seating arrangements in past years. After debate, the Chair said he would ask the conference organisers at lunch time if it was possible to re-arrange the seating for the forthcoming days.
1.5 The Chair informed delegates that movers would be allowed 5 minutes to move motions and other speakers would be allowed a 3 minute speaking time to allow for a total of thirty six motions for debate which included late motion L1.
1.6 It was explained that voting delegates from USS institutions had yellow cards, others had red cards and delegates attending sector conference only had pink cards. Delegates who thought that they had been allocated the wrong colour were asked to make this known to the staff desk.
1.7 It was announced that the nominations for national negotiators would be closing in 10 minutes.
1.8 Delegates were asked to refer to the back of their badges for quick access to details of official fringe meetings, information which was also available in delegate packs.
2 Appointment of Tellers
2.1 Conference approved the appointment of 51福利 regional officials and regional support officials as tellers.
3 Adoption of the Report of the CBC
3.1
Randy Banks, Chair of the Congress Business
Committee (CBC) addressed Conference and asked delegates to note paper 51福利/512B.
It was noted that one late motion had been ordered onto the agenda (L1
University Governance and Post-16 Education – 51福利 Scotland) and would be taken
before HE18.
3.2
One late amendment (B20 University of
Wolverhampton) had not been ordered onto the agenda.
3.3
Dan Arthur, chair
of academic related committee, asked for further clarification on the exclusion
of B20 from the agenda. It was meant as a drafting amendment and the committee
were agreed that it was a friendly amendment.
3.4
Randy Banks said
that CBC’s responsibility was to apply the rules as they stood and in the
interests of parity with other submissions, the amendment was received after
the deadline for consideration.
3.5
The CBC Chair
thanked all CBC members, 51福利 staff and organisers who had provided support to
the approval of motions for debate and made sector conference possible and then
moved the report.
3.6
There being no
further comments or challenges from the floor, the report of CBC was adopted.
4 Unconfirmed minutes of sector conference 8 June 2012
4.1 Conference adopted these minutes (51福利510).
5 Unconfirmed minutes of special sector conference February 2013
Conference adopted these minutes (51福利511).
6 Report from Michael MacNeil, National Head of Higher Education
6.1
In his address to
Conference, Michael MacNeil reported on the enormous amount of work undertaken
within the higher education sector at branch, regional and national levels.
6.2
Michael said that
the funds were there to ensure that the widening access agenda was promoted, to
address the 17% gender pay gap, to improve the hourly paid rate and assimilate
hourly paid staff to the pay spine. However, the employers appeared happy to
allow gender and BME inequality to persist claiming it was not part of the pay remit.
6.3
UCEA continued to
confine discussions to percentage points on the pay claim. This year, there had
been a surplus of 1.1 billion over expenditure and last year 1.2 billion with a
total of 8 billion in cash reserves. Despite this, the pay offer remained
capped at 1%.
6.4
Michael spoke
about the necessity of backing up a good ballot result with successful
industrial action and the need to take members along with the union.
6.5
Despite a
difficult backdrop, Michael spoke about union successes. He gave examples where
51福利 had been the loudest voice in Scotland regarding university governance and
involvement in Northern Ireland with the Department of Education and Learning.
He spoke about various successes in England such as the campaign for the
University of Central Lancashire to remain a civic resource rather than a
company limited by guarantee, the answerability and governance of private
providers of education, the curbing of extending the VAT exemption to corporate
providers of education, etc.
6.6
Michael spoke
about the relentless attack on employment rights in terms of collective
consultations with regards to redundancies and lodging appeals to employment
tribunals.
6.7
He thanked
regional and HQ staff for their efforts in getting six national ballots out
since 2009 and predicted that there were further difficulties to face in the
last two years of this unelected right-wing government.
6.8
Michael wished
delegates a successful conference and Congress.
7 Debate of motions
7.1???? HE1, Mandatory reporting of senior staff pay and pay inequality, Newcastle
University, was moved by Geoff Abbott. HE1A.1,
black members standing committee was moved formally and was carried nem con. Other speakers in the
debate were Rob Jackson, KCL; Tim Barrett, University of Bath; and Russell
Deacon, Swansea University.
7.2???? HE1
was carried as amended:
Conference notes: Conference notes:
1. high and ever increasing
Vice-Chancellors and senior staff pay;
2.
the
lack of transparency in remuneration awards of senior staff, including bonus
payments and discretionary increases;
3.
the
increasing inequality gap in pay between the majority of employees in HE
Institutions and the highest paid at HE institutions;
4.
the
gradual erosion of the standard of living of our members after 4 years of pay
cuts in real terms.
Conference
calls on our national negotiators and HEC to demand that HEI's annually
publish:
a.
the
ratio between the pay of the vice chancellor (and the highest paid employee, if
different) and the lowest full time equivalent salary at the institution;
b.
full
lists of pay of all staff earning more than ?100K;
c.
a
seat on remuneration committee guaranteed to a 51福利 representative at all HEIs;
d.
A
separate list showing the number of black and women staff at all levels of the
organisation by grades.
7.3??? HE2,
Enforcing the National Framework Agreement (NFA), East Midlands regional HE
committee was moved by Alan Ryan, De Montfort. HE2A.1, Anti-casualisation committee was moved by
7.4??? HE2
was carried nem com as amended:
????????? HE Conference notes
1. The NFA contains detailed provisions on pay grades underpinned by a job evaluation scheme and nationally negotiated roles profiles.
2. HEIs have begun to erode the provisions of the NFA by introducing intense performance management processes and are redefining unilaterally the responsibilities within roles.
3. HEIs are adapting staff appraisal systems to introduce performance related pay outside the provisions of the NFA.
4. Not all HEIs have fully assimilated hourly paid staff onto the national pay spine.
5. That in some universities health educators are treated as second class academics. Many of these members deliver curricula over 45 weeks a year, with multiple intakes and intense student placement visiting. They are disadvantaged through lack of time to engage with additional research activities and may be ‘downgraded’ as a result. Conference condemns this practice.
HE Conference calls on the HEC
a.
to monitor the implementation of the NFA, including the
assimilation of hourly paid staff, locally by working with branches, local
associations and regional offices;
b.
to wage a national campaign to prevent employers from either
contravening or circumventing the provisions of the NFA to the detriment of
academic and academic related staff.
7.5??? HE3,
Performance management in HE, Queen Mary, was moved by Paul Anderson, QM. HE3A.1, disabled members standing committee,
was moved formally and carried nem con.
7.6??? HE3
was carried as amended:
Conference notes the increasing pressure on staff across the sector to be subject to metrics-based measurement as a means of 'performance management'. Using crude metrics, such policies create insecurity amongst staff and strike at the heart of collegiality - upon which UK higher education relies - and undermines academic freedom and innovation in research. Most of these arrangements are imposed by managers on staff, with little consideration of the appropriateness of the 'targets' set, and the circumstances of individual members of staff. This includes not taking into account any reasonable adjustments secured by disabled staff which may impact on their ability to make crude targets. The outcome can be destructive not only of the careers of individual members of staff but the wider fabric of institutions. Conference calls upon HEC to mount a national and co-ordinated campaign against the imposition of performance management in HE, including the impact on disabled members.
7.7??? HE4,
Performance related pay, University of Hertfordshire, was moved by Jon Berry, University of Hertfordshire, and carried nem com:
????????? Conference notes with alarm events at Halesowen College where student outcomes were used in an attempt to discipline 51福利 members.
Conference notes the increasing use across the HE sector of such data, gathered on the premise of enhancing student experience but which is, in effect, used to scrutinise and regulate the actions of academics.
Conference believes that the use of such measures could be used by some employers as a major step towards performance related pay.
Conference calls
for:
1. a campaign to challenge the use of NSS by employers as a way of controlling academic actions.
2. support for local campaigns where employers use similar mechanisms in individual institutions for the purpose of scrutinising and regulating our members.
Conference asserts its belief that dialogue needs to be encouraged between students and academics to explain our opposition to such measures.
7.8??? HE5,
Maternity leave cover, University of Glasgow, was moved by Susan Ashworth, University
of Glasgow, and carried nem con:
Conference believes that cover for staff on maternity leave is a right and not a privilege. Colleagues should not be asked to increase workload to cover for staff on maternity leave and staff on maternity leave should have an expectation that their work is not sidelined while they are on leave. Lack of cover can lead to local resentment, stalling of careers and discrimination, both direct and indirect. Conference believes that university resources should be made available to enable local areas to provide adequate cover. Initiatives such as Athena Swann can provide a mechanism to pressure institutions to address their responsibilities. Conference calls on HEC to develop best practice guidelines to assist branches in local negotiations.
7.9??? HE6,
Stress and Bullying, south east regional committee was moved by Owen Lyne,
University of Kent. HE6A.1, LSE, was moved by Mike Cushman, and was carried. HE6A.2, University of Manchester,
was moved by Roger Walden, and was remitted. HE6A.3, black members standing
committee, was moved formally and was carried. HE6A.4, Yorkshire and Humberside regional
HE committee, was moved by Paul
Blackledge and was also carried. Other
speakers in the debate were Martin Levy, HEC;
7.10? HE6,
as amended by HE6A.1, HE6A.3 and HE6A.4, was then carried:
????????? HE Sector Conference recognises that stress levels of staff in the HE sector have increased in recent years. These enhanced stress levels are caused by several factors such as job uncertainty, increased workloads, enhanced levels of bullying, etc. These job-related pressures are affecting us all but especially groups with characteristics protected by the Equality Act 2010.
Conference condemns the emergence of a series of management practices that have exacerbated REF-induced stress:
- Annual pre-REF assessments starting five or six years before the census date inevitably telling staff that submission fails to meet required standards;
- External assessors providing little constructive feedback;
- Assessments by non-UK assessors penalising submissions for not publishing in US journals;
- Complex circumstance processes failing to redress disadvantage but increasing stress;
- Non-submission leading to career detriment
HE Sector Conference instructs its officers and officials to continue the stress and bullying campaign as this will be an increasingly important issue in the future, and instructs officers and officials to prepare an annual statement of the number of cases reported to the 51福利 at all levels on bullying and harassment of the groups with characteristics protected under the Equality Act 2010.
Recognising that strong union workplace organisation and visibility, with active local reps, are key to tackling and resisting a bullying culture, HE Sector Conference encourages branches and Las to: make good use of 51福利 workload and campaign materials; educate members in their conditions of service, H&S, workload, bullying; and ensure that these issues are taken up in union recruitment campaigns.
7.11? HE7,
Use of zero hours contracts in higher education, anti-casualisation
committee, was moved by Vicky Blake, ACC chair and Leeds. HE7A.1, Yorkshire and Humberside regional HE committee, was moved
by Darren Hill, LeedsMet and was carried.
HE7A.2, LSE, was moved by Mike
Cushman and was carried nem con. Liza
van Zyl, University of Cardiff, and
7.12?? HE7
was carried as amended:
Conference notes, that despite our firm policy against their use, the use of zero hours contracts appears to be increasing across the sector. However, this Conference notes that there is no formal collation of statistics on the use of such contracts – HESA data merely collects data on the use of ‘atypical’ contracts.
Conference further notes that currently UCEA are refusing to undertake research in this area.
Conference believes that to fully understand the impact of these contracts in the sector we need further data on their use.
Conference therefore calls for the HEC to:
1. continue to call on UCEA to undertake research into the use of zero hours contracts, including data of the numbers of staff on such contracts that are without work at any given time;
2. that if UCEA continue to refuse, that HEC undertake its own research to gather such data.
3. prepare a model claim for provision of ‘paid time on’ as union facility time for HPLs and staff on fractional contracts who are elected to union office. This would mean that part-time staff could have the right to choose to take facility time either as increased paid working hours at their substantive pay point or protected within their existing working hours.
Conference notes that hourly paid research staff are frequently treated even worse than teachers.
Conference recognises that research duties are less predictable than teaching duties and some contract variability is inevitable. However, currently all risk is carried by staff, frequently employed on inappropriately low grades.
Conference urges branches to prioritise the situation of hourly paid research staff to combat abuse and, as a first step, insist they are fully assimilated into the framework agreement.
7.13? HE8,
Disability leave, disabled members standing committee, was moved by Roger
Walters, HEC, and was carried nem con:
????????? Conference congratulates the national negotiators in prioritising disability leave as part of the national claim. Conference is appalled that the employers refused to enter into national discussions but suggested it is left for local negotiation. This attitude perpetuates disability discrimination.
Disability leave is a key agreement for disabled workers particularly in the current climate. To secure the right to have time off relating to your disability counted separately from sickness leave. This will assist in ensuring disabled workers are not identified as having high sickness rates and therefore targeted for redundancy or otherwise discriminated against.
Conference calls upon the Higher Education Committee to continue to educate branches and employers on the importance of disability leave through briefings and urges branches to raise this issue as soon as possible as part of local negotiations.
Conference also calls upon HEC to ensure developments in case law and policy be disseminated to branches.
7.14? HE9,
Bullying and victimisation of black activists, black members standing
committee, was moved by Blaise Nkwenti, University of Manchester, and was carried. Adel Nasser, University of
Manchester, also spoke in the debate:
Conference acknowledges the bullying tactics of higher education institutions, under the umbrella of efficiency or cost-saving measures. This practice has specifically targeting known union activists, and includes dismissal, misuse of disciplinary procedures, failure to follow agreed procedures, and failure to safeguard equality and effective consultation with staff, students and the wider community.
Black staff and students have been made vulnerable by these abuses. Courses and programmes with high proportions of black staff and/or students appear to be under attack.
Conference resolves to:
1. monitor patterns of misuse of policies, practices procedures, including bullying, victimisation and targeting of activists
2. work with the NUS to highlight the importance of safeguarding equality for staff and students in the face of cuts contractual changes
3. publicise the impact of cuts in courses, support for students, restructuring, increase workloads and lack of access to education by BME communities.
7.15? HE10,
Unequal terms and conditions for researchers in post-92 institutions, anti-casualisation
committee, was moved by Jean
Crocker, HEC. Malcolm Povey, HEC, also spoke in the debate. The motion was carried:
Conference notes that researchers in some post-92 universities are not allowed to join the Teachers’ Pension Scheme but are placed in local government schemes. Conference further notes that researchers on some grades in some post-92 universities are given less annual leave than lecturers.
Conference believes that research staff should benefit from terms and conditions that are no less beneficial that those of their lecturing colleagues.
Conference therefore agrees to:
1. determine the extent of detrimental terms and conditions for research staff in post 92 universities;
2. campaign for the right of research staff in post-92 universities to join TPS;
3. challenge and campaign against any other detrimental terms and conditions including annual leave.
7.16? HE11,
Composite: Erosion of fixed term redundancy rights and redundancy consultation
requirements, Higher Education Committee, 51福利 Scotland, was moved by Dominique
Lauterburg, HEC. Douglas Chalmers, 51福利 Scotland, Glasgow Caledonian, seconded
the motion. Other speakers in the debate were:
Conference notes the ideological attack on workers’ rights by this government, including retrograde changes to redundancy consultation requirements.
These changes:
1. remove the requirement of employers to consult with trade unions when fixed term contracts expire reducing the rights of those on fixed-term contracts.
2. halve the minimum consultation period to 45 days where there are 100 or more potential redundancies
Conference notes the endemic use of FTCs in the sector and further notes that HEI management played a significant role in persuading the government to remove fixed-term workers from collective redundancy consultations.
Conference condemns this diminution of rights for fixed-term staff and condemns those HE employers who lobbied the government to remove the ‘burden’ of their consulting on FTC redundancies.
Conference resolves that branches should seek full commitment from their employer to:
a.
consult with 51福利 on all collective redundancies of fixed-term
contract staff with a view to avoiding such dismissals
b.
allow a minimum consultation period of at least 90 days in
the event of 100 or more potential redundancies
c.
justify the use of all FTCs and not to use these contracts
beyond a four year period.
Conference calls on HEC to campaign for these rights to be
regained by lobbying the responsible Minister and working with branches to
maintain redundancy consultation rights in HEIs.
7.17? HE12,
Research funding, University of Brighton Moulsecoomb, was moved by Patricia
McManus, University of Brighton. HE12A.1,
higher education committee was moved by
7.18? HE12,
was carried as amended:
Conference
notes that
1. 2010, 2011 and 2012 Conferences
instructed HEC to
· organise campaigns against research
performance management,
· promote consent-based management, and
· secure a funding regime protective of
academic freedom.
2.
HE27
(2010) instructed HEC "to build a campaign against the REF's terms of
operation, and its implementation in its current form", and "campaign
for a boycott of the REF in its current form".
Conference
reaffirms those commitments to an alternative funding regime and to
academic freedom.
Conference instructs HEC to
i. revisit the motions on research from
Congress 2010, 2011, and 2012, and create a strategy to carry forward policy
between now and REF 2019;
ii. inform all members of the policy in a
dedicated communication, and prepare branches for an extended campaign in line
with policy.
7.19? HE13,
REF2014: ensuring equality, women
members standing committee, was moved by Ann Blair, HEC. Mary Jennings, HEC,
also spoke to the motion. HE13 was carried nem con:
???????? HESC welcomes the introduction of explicit Equality
and Diversity policies related to REF 2014 and the work of the Equality Challenge
Unit (ECU) in providing case studies for those with ‘complex circumstances’.
However, it notes that maternity leave was only recognised as requiring a
reduction in outputs after 51福利 lobbying and is concerned to ensure that
policies have really impacted on institutional processes.
???????? Therefore, conference calls upon
branches to alert 51福利 (HQ) of any concerns relating to institutional equality
and diversity practices surrounding REF 2014.
???????? HESC also calls upon 51福利 to:
1.
Analyse post REF
2014 E&D data;
2.
Establish the
percentage of academics using disclosure forms (broken down by gender and
institution); and
3.
Where there are
examples of good practice, explore how these might be helpfully embedded within
our institutions, especially with regard to promotion processes.
7.20? HE14,
Career progression and professional development for academic-related staff,
academic related staff committee was moved by Helen MacCarthy, University of
Hull and was carried nem con:
Universities
are attempting to introduce policies which deny the right of academic-related
staff to continued professional development, career progression, and promotion
opportunities within their present roles, and to expand their roles to take on
more duties and responsibilities. Workers in comparable roles in the private
sector do have such opportunities and are encouraged to use them.
Consequently,
academic-related staff are unable to progress except by changing employer. This
reduces the pool of knowledge and expertise within an institution and creates
gaps in essential support.
Conference
condemns the attitude of employers towards academic-related staff and calls on
HEC to:
1. press for parity of career
progression and promotion for academic-related and academic staff
2. insist on the right to continued
professional development for academic-related members.
3. liaise with other unions in the HE
sector to agree a joint approach to management on non-academic promotions.
7.21? HE15,
Academic-related staff recognition, academic related staff committee was moved
by Dan Arthur, ARC chair. HE15A.1,
University of Cambridge was moved by David Goode, Cambridge and was carried. Jane Harvey, University of
Wolverhampton spoke about late amendment B20
which had not been ordered onto the agenda. The chair reminded conference that
the decision of CBC had not been further challenged after the initial question
regarding the exclusion of B20 and that
the third report of the CBC had been adopted by delegates.
7.22? HE15 was
carried as amended:
HE Sector Conference notes with concern a recent attempt by one university to derecognise 51福利 as body representing academic-related staff and
1. re-affirms its opposition to removing the close link between academic and academic-related staff groups in pre-92 institutions, including any attempt to de-recognise 51福利 as the trade union with collective bargaining recognition for academic related staff
2. believes that academic-related staff are an inseparable part of the academic team,
3. believes that central to 51福利’s professional as well as trades union work in the pre-92 institutions is the ability to recruit and negotiate for members within both academic and academic-related areas.
4. believes the academic-related committee is central to this work.
HESC instructs the HEC to ensure that any branch which faces a threat of de-recognition for academic related staff is given the fullest possible support from the union nationally to resist any such threat.
7.23? HE16,
Composite: Threat to education departments in higher education, Goldsmiths
University, Newcastle University, was
moved by Clare Kelly, Goldsmiths,
and seconded by Joan Harvey, Newcastle. HE16.A1,
north west HE committee, was moved by Pura Ariza, ManchesterMet, and was carried. HE16A.2, higher education committee, was moved by Patricia Hulme,
HEC, and was carried. Marian Carty,
University of Cumbria, also spoke in the debate.
7.24? HE16
was carried nem con as amended:
????????? Congress
notes:
1.
The
drastic cut in ITE places in universities as a result of current government
policy to sever links between HE education departments and schools,
transferring responsibility and funding for ITE from universities to schools
via 'Schools Direct', despite evidence that HEI-led partnerships offer the most
effective route into teaching
2.
Congress
2012 has agreed to a joint conference with other unions in relation this
matter.
3.
Gove’s
assault on pre-16 education, and condemns the attacks on teachers and the
curriculum. This is a step back to a stratified system which entrenches class
and other inequalities. We need to defend equal access for all to a broad and
balanced curriculum which develops critical thinking, not rote learning.
Conference
believes:
a.
this
policy, and the government’s view of teaching as a craft, de-professionalises
and deskills teachers and teacher educators and will damage children’s
education;
b.
this
policy has serious implications for members' workloads and job security
and may result in mass redundancies amongst our members, affecting education
departments and the wider university through loss of funding.
Congress
resolves:
i.
to
urge 51福利 nationally to formulate and publicise a joint position and campaign
strategy with other education unions, challenging the evidence base upon which
this policy is based and widely publicising a critical analysis of government
policy on ITE
ii.? to launch a campaign on the defence of Education departments with immediate effect
iii. to campaign with other unions and interested groups to publicise and expose detrimental effects of Gove’s policies in pre-16 education
iv. to conduct a national audit of branches to find out the effect of cuts on numbers of staff, courses and research in education departments and across universities;?
v. to issue
urgent advice to branches on
what discussions they should have with management;
vi. that branches should be
encouraged to ballot for industrial action to resist compulsory redundancies.
7.25? HE17, UCLan
privatisation – change of corporate status, University of Central
Lancashire, was moved by Michael Mckrell, UCLan. HE17A.1 was moved by Pura Ariza, ManchesterMet and was carried. HE17A.2 was moved by David Goode, HEC and fell. William Craig, Robert Gordon University also spoke in the
debate:
7.26? HE17
was carried as amended by HE17A.1:
????????? Conference notes the Vice Chancellor and Board of Governors of the University of Central Lancashire? has undertaken to dissolve the University’s status as a Higher Education Corporation and to change its corporate form to that of a private company limited by guarantee (CLG).
Conference believes that the proposed change of corporate form at UCLan will:
1. weaken the democratic accountability of the institution
2. concentrate power into the hands of the VC/CEO
3. place the public assets of the University at risk from private equity interests
4. move the University significantly closer to becoming a for-profit institution.
Conference congratulates UCLAN branch, with the support of
the regional and national union, on a successful campaign against the
privatisation of UCLAN by means of change of corporate status; a campaign which
brought together unions, students, local politicians and community groups.
Conference renews its resolve to oppose all forms of privatisation.
7.27? L1, University
Governance and post-16 Education Bill, 51福利 Scotland, was moved by Gordon
Watson, Strathclyde and carried:
???????? HESC notes the publication of a new
draft code of governance for Scottish Universities on 16/04/13. This code,
produced by retired university managers at the instruction of the Scottish
Chairs of Court, fails to grasp the key points of the von Prondzynski report
and seeks to maintain the status quo in university governance.
???????? In contrast to the von Prondzynski
report, the draft code has been drafted without staff or student involvement
and has published no broad base of evidence to support its conclusions.
???????? The post 16 education bill in Scotland
presents an opportunity to legislate for good governance. HESC believes that
any new code must address the recommendations of the von Prondzynski review and
include trade union membership on governing bodies. We call on the Scottish
government to reject the governance code produced by managers for managers and
any subsequent governance code which is not von Prondzynski compliant.?????????
7.28? HE18,
Academic freedom and military and industrial funding, University of
Glasgow, was moved by Bill Stewart,
Glasgow. Peter Woodward, Imperial, also spoke in the debate. HE18 was carried:
????????? HESC notes:
1. the pressures
on members in science and engineering to obtain industrial funding
2. military and
industrial funders have been known to restrict publication of results and/or
put pressure on researchers to distort and falsify results for instance to show
the safety and benefits of a particular product.
HESC instructs
HEC to:
a.
carry
out a survey of the extent of military and industrial funding and other
sponsorship, pressures on researchers and unethical practices arising from this
sponsorship
b.
name
and shame funders and universities involved in bad practices
c.
campaign
for improved state funding of research
d.
draw
up guidelines for improved regulation of industrial and military sponsorship of
research
e.
provide
a briefing to members
f.
provide
full support to members who act as whistleblowers or otherwise draw attention
to suspected abuses related to industrial or military funding of research.
7.29? HE19,
Defence of academic freedom, LSE, was moved by Mike Cushman. Saladin[You
might check this but I am pretty sure]? Meckled-Garcia,
UCL, also spoke in the debate. HE19, was
carried nem con:
Conference is concerned that threats to academic freedom
continue to intensify through:
1. ‘Modernisation’
of statutes to increase control through managerialist disciplinary procedures
2. Escalating
pressure to publish in ‘high-quality’ and mainly orthodox journals through REF
and recruitment and promotion procedures
3. Attempts by
universities to control academics' use of social media
4. Increasing
dependence on corporate funding and fundraising
5. Pressure on research councils to follow political agendas
Conference:
a.
Instructs
HEC to publicise these threats
b.
Urges
all branches to campaigning on threats to academic freedom.
51福利 cannot
defend academic freedom alone and Conference instructs HEC and urges branches
to support relevant campaigns and seek to mobilise a broad alliance. Conference
demands that UUK and all mission groups resist pressure to conformity and urge
their members not to collaborate in processes that threaten unconstrained
research aims and refuse funding with strings attached that threaten
independence of thought.
7.30? HE20,
Composite: open access, Yorkshire and Humberside regional HE committee,
higher education committee, University of Lincoln, was moved by Jane Hardy, HEC. HE20A.1, Yorkshire and Humberside
regional HE committee was moved by Malcolm Povey, Leeds, HEC, and was carried. Dave Kenyon, University of
Lincoln spoke in the debate.
7.31? HE20
was carried nem con as amended:
????????? HESC notes:
1. 2012 Congress policy on “Open Access”.
2. Unilateral imposition by RCUK and HEFCE of the Finch report’s ‘gold’ open access.
3. Staff engaged in publicly funded research are expected to publish only in journals levying ‘APC’ charges to author institutions; which
a.
threatens academic freedom and control of research;
b.
diverts funds to already wealthy publishers;
c.
increases academic inequality across and within institutions;
impacting especially on women, under-represented groups and minority subjects;
d.
threatens academic control of research.
Conference deplores the
hasty imposition of a UK research publishing regime which is short-sighted and
biased against the research traditions in the Arts & Humanities.
Conference resolves to:
i.
call upon government to suspend the imposition of the Finch
Report's recommendations and set up a proper enquiry into academic research
publishing, open access and future dissemination of research findings
ii.
demand an immediate moratorium from RCUK and HEFCE on ‘gold’
open access and oppose proposed restrictions on REF2020;
iii.
initiate a campaign and open debate on ‘Open Access’ and the
future of research dissemination in the UK and more widely, promoting the
‘green’ version;
iv.
campaign alongside scholarly and other bodies to oppose
models of open access publishing that restrict the ability of researchers to
publish their work without funding support from their institution or a research
funding body sponsor;
v.
demand clear policies from Universities around open access
funds, defence of academic freedom and addressing equalities issues, and ensure
institutional resources are not unnecessarily spent on APCs;
vi.
defend the integrity of scholarly journals by rejecting the
pressure for ‘pay-to-say’ publishing.
7.32? HE21,
Composite: open access publishing, University of Liverpool, University of
Warwick, was moved by Jimmy Donaghey, University of warwick, HEC. HE21A.1, anti-casualisation committee,
was moved by Rob Jackson, KCL, and was carried
nem con.
7.33? HE21
was carried nem con as amended:
Conference notes with concern that the report of the Finch Committee recommends the so-called "gold model" for open-access publishing, with Article Processing Charges (APCs) in lieu of traditional journal subscription fees, and RCUK now makes provision for the APC funding model in its funding regime. Conference also notes the negative implications for academic freedom.
Conference recognises that “open access” carries, in principle, with it many attractive benefits. Nevertheless, the ever-changing approach of RCUK which failed to consult adequately with academics and institutions presents potential threats to academic debate. In particular, the current RCUK approach, and the discretion it gives to institutions about how to spend their “block grants”, presents threats to academic freedom and is of particular concern to fixed term researchers and junior staff. Similarly, discussion of the requirement for open-access publications to be included only in post-2013 REFs is concerning.
Conference declares its opposition to any changes to academic publishing which would:
????? 1. make the publication of individual research outputs subject to the availability of funding from the institution, funding body or block grant; and
2. further increase the level of control by institutions on where research outputs are published.
Conference instructs the HEC to:
a. Initiate a
wide ranging discussion throughout institutions about the merits and pitfalls
of open access
b. Develop
guidance to branches to engage with management about the use of open access block
grants, including highlighting bad practice and good practice
c. Campaign to
ensure than any moves to open-access protect academic freedom and do not
discriminate against staff
7.34? HE22, The Finch
Report, LSE, was moved by Mike Cushman
and was carried nem con:
????????? Conference welcomes the apparent relaxation by David Willets on the author-pay gold open access recommendations of the Finch report.
We demand a clear statement by UUK that all its members will not discriminate between publications on the basis of gold or green OA in recruitment and promotion and that publication in overseas journals outside the Gold OA scheme will not be penalised. We urge all branches to seek similar declarations from their employers that they will not discriminate.
Conference believes that any move to author-pay must be conditional on:
1.? A transparent matching reduction in library subscription charges
2.? A mechanism to ensure that authors (such as those who are retired, on career breaks or undertaking PhDs) without institutional support can continue to publish without upfront fees
Conference instructs HEC to campaign against any moves that will inhibit researchers’ ability to publish in appropriate journals or through monographs.
7.35? HE23,
Open access and impact on LGBT in the curriculum, LGBT members standing Mary
Jennings, LGBT standing committee and was carried
nem con:
????????? Conference notes the forthcoming move
toward open access publication. Rather than journals seeking and publishing
articles academics will be required to send articles to journals for
publication. Cost of the journals will fall to HEIs by way of paying for
articles to be published and this is likely to lead, Conference believes, to
management making decisions on financial rather than academic grounds and research
boards seeking those articles that are most likely to perform best in the REF.
This is potentially increased threat on studies within equality areas such as
those engaging with LGBT issues. Conference believes that study and research
around LGBT issues should be consistently supported and promoted.
Conference
calls on the HEC to
1. investigate equality impact of
open access proposals and campaign against any negative impact
2. promote study on LGBT issues by
supporting preparation for the triennial LGBT research conference to be held in
2015.
7.36? HE24,
Defence of the university and universal access, University of Brighton
Grand Parade and University of Brighton Eastbourne, was moved by
7.37 HE24
was carried unamended:
HESC notes
the
1. May
‘Convention for HE’ organised by CDBU, CPU and local 51福利 branches;
2. draft Charter
for HE that emerged from the Convention;
3. 51福利 manifesto
for post-school education, ‘Education for the Future’.
HESC
believes that
a. 51福利 is not simply
about a defence of the terms and conditions but also defence of access to an
education not shaped by the market, or rationed by price;
b. 51福利 must play a central part publicly to explain the
social role and value of higher education as a social good.
HESC
instructs HESC to
i. encourage all HE branches to work with the CDBU, CPU and
local students’ unions to organise campus-wide meetings in autumn and spring at
every university to debate and refine the Charter for HE;
ii. distribute the Charter and the 51福利 manifesto to all
members electronically;
iii. hold a joint conference with NUS on the defence of HE
against neo-liberalism in 2014.
7.38? HE25,
Student entitlements: beyond a consumer approach, Yorkshire and Humberside
regional HE committee was Helen MacCarthy, Hull, and was carried nem con:
HESC believes that university students should be
entitled to opportunities for a genuine learning experience at university,
which includes:
1. academic
freedom to study, learn and debate;
2. wide range of
available subjects and modules;
3. equal
opportunities and respect for diversity;
4. properly
resourced good quality teaching, including one-to-one tutorial support;
5. good quality
facilities in learning centres, laboratories and classrooms;
6. fair and
transparent procedures for assessment.
Universities
should view students as partners in learning not as consumers. Education is a
not a commodity and universities do not exist to sell degrees.
Universities
have a duty of care to students and staff. They should manage the design and
publication of service standards in order to reconcile rights of students to a
good quality education with rights of staff to reasonable workloads, within
their academic contracts.
HEC will
work with NUS to:
a.
campaign
for public education
b.
reject
consumerist approaches which divide students and staff.
7.39? HE26,
Disproportionate impact of fees on women staff and students, women members
standing committee was moved by Liza van Zyl, Cardiff University.
???????? Sector Conference instructs HEC to ensure that a
gender analysis is included within any analysis of the impact of falling
student numbers due to the introduction of ?9,000 tuition fees.
???????? This might include the impact on:-
???????? 1. Jobs lost from the sector;
???????? 2. Cuts in the provision of
traditionally ‘female’ subjects
???????? 3. Comparative breakdown of student
numbers by subject
???????? 4. Widening participation measures
???????? 5. Graduation rates
???????? HEC will ensure that any significant
disparate impacts are notified to WMSC and that they are highlighted in any
reports/press releases and that they are included as an aspect of all campaigns
involving fees.
7.40?? HE27,
Greater coordination with student unions, Teesside University, was moved by
Terry Murphy, Teesside. Owen Lyne, University of Kent; Cliff Snaith, LondonMet;
Darren Hill, LeedsMet; and Lisa van Zyl, Cardiff University, spoke in this
debate.
7.41??
????????? This conference calls upon HEC to support and implement a trial of institutional and regional joint training days for 51福利 institutional and regional executive members and student union leaderships in HE.
Whilst intransigent managements have shown in institution after institution a complete disregard for the wishes and professional views of their staff they remain obsessed with the scores which they are given in the national student survey and other student satisfaction instruments.
51福利 has had little systematic shared
training with student union officers and in many cases staff union and student
union executives may have little regular contact or knowledge of each other’s
role and perspective. Such training would help both bodies consider how best to
resist privatisation and put education before profit whilst promoting a more
strategic understanding of the NSS and how to use it to support better staff /
student ratios and fair working conditions for staff.
7.42?? HE28,
Student accommodation provision by universities, University of Aberdeen,
was moved by Mike McConnell, Aberdeen. Other speakers included Joe Gluza, HEC,
and Kathy Watson, University of Greenwich. HE28 was carried with a minor drafting amendment:
????????? Conference
notes that the high cost of student accommodation impacts negatively on student
experience and success. Congress notes many students with families prefer a
community setting where they can benefit from the support of their peers.
Conference also notes that some UK universities
have reduced their stock of student accommodation in favour of the private
market and that this has contributed to the high cost of rented accommodation
potentially affecting recruitment, widening access and retention.
Conference calls on HEC to work with NUS to
investigate the relationship between the provision of accommodation by
universities and local accommodation prices and if appropriate, campaign to
promote the building of affordable student accommodation by universities.
7.43?? Motions HE29-35
were taken in one debate in private session. The chair reminded delegates that
this meant they should not be published via twitter or other online and social
media.
7.44? The chair reported that the papers for the
election of the HE negotiators were available to collect at the registration
desk on production of voting cards.
7.45? The chair proposed a message of support from
the conference to the postal workers and this was agreed.
7.46? The chair invited
7.47? Speakers
in the debate included Sue Blackwell, Birmingham; Veronica Killen, HEC; Pura
Ariza, ManchesterMet;
7.48 The chair,
7.49? HE29,???????? National claim/negotiations with UCEA, Higher
education committee Cardiff University was moved by
7.50? After
the debate above, delegates voted
overwhelmingly in support of 6c to consult members with a recommendation to
reject the final offer. With this agreed, the recommendations in 51福利HE/190 were
carried:
???????? Conference notes the report and
approves the recommendations from the national negotiators contained in
51福利HE/190.
7.51? HE30,
Pay and conditions, southern regional HE committee, was moved by Mick
Jardine and was carried nem con.
????????? HESC is gravely concerned that, despite a shocking reduction in real terms pay in recent years, combined with widespread deterioration in conditions of employment, no national industrial action has taken place to address these trends.
HESC believes that it is vital that this union actively protects the pay and conditions of members and hence the quality of educational provision, as the fundamental purpose of the union.
Therefore HESC instructs HEC to:
1. actively campaign for a pay catch-up
2. find more effective ways in which our industrial organisation can resist government policy on privatisation and marketisation of HE, which is driving down conditions of service
7.52?? HE31, Pay negotiations 2013, call for joint union action, Teesside
University, was moved by Terry Murphy, Teesside. HE31A.1, higher education committee, was moved by Steve Sangwine,
HEC, and fell due to the motion
being taken in parts.
7.53?? HE31 was taken in parts. The first sentence was carried overwhelmingly and the second sentence was lost. The motion was carried as amended:
????????? This conference calls upon HEC to plan for joint political and industrial action where at all possible with other educational unions and with unions representing other workers on campus in HE in support of the current pay claim.
7.54?? HE32, 2013 Pay claim, Northumbria University, was moved by
Emma-Jane Phillips, Northumbria.
Conference recognises that the increases in TPS contributions give added weight to the pay claim decided at February’s Special Conference.
However, we are concerned that, with fewer than 60 branches/LAs registered, the Special Conference decided to seek and develop industrial action "commencing in the summer term". For such action to be effective, it has to win widespread support amongst our members, be clearly targeted, and coordinated as much as possible with action taken by other unions. In the summer term, such action would be premature.
Conference therefore resolves that, in the absence of either (a) punitive sanctions by the employers, or (b) strike dates before the end of June set by the other unions, 51福利's current action, if any, will be limited to working to contract, and that the HEC should use the summer period to mobilise members for a major campaign of industrial action in the autumn.
7.55? HE33, Industrial action, University of Brighton Grand Parade and
University of Brighton Moulsecoomb, was moved by Tom Hickey, Brighton, who also
urged for rejection of HE33A.1. HE33A.1, higher education committee, was moved
by Jimmy Donaghey, HEC, and lost. Jelena
Timotijevic, HEC, spoke in the debate and
7.56? HE33 was carried unamended:
????????? HESC believes
1. all forms of industrial action should be considered in the defence of jobs, pay, conditions and the quality and breadth of HE provision;
2. in particular, details of a ‘work to contract’ should be elaborated for branches and members, and each branch encouraged to hold preparatory meetings.
HESC resolves that
a.
a sub-committee of the HEC will consider how all aspects of
ASOS could be implemented in the current campaign, and devise a template of
escalating action in response to aggressive responses from employers;
b. a national meeting of branch
representatives will consider detailed recommendations in the autumn;
c. ?national one-day strikes are important in
launching campaigns for symbolic and mobilising effects but are insufficient to
secure agreement;
d. rolling regional strikes, a
judicious escalation to two-day and three-day strikes at appropriate times, and
ASOS have all to be part of any programme of industrial action.
7.57? HE34,
USS, Higher education committee, was moved by Alan Carr, SWG chair. ??? Jimmy Donaghey, HEC;
???????? HE34
was carried:
???????? Conference notes the report on the
progress of talks to resolve the USS dispute and approves the recommendations
from the HEC’s Superannuation Working Group contained in 51福利HE/191.
7.58? HE35,
USS Investment in British American Tobacco, Cardiff University, was moved
by Lisa van Zyl. HE35A.1,
Birmingham, was moved by Sue Blackwell, Birmingham, and was carried.
7.59? Sue Blackwell challenged the chair who had
ruled that only those with a personal interest in USS, or who were delegates
representing USS institutions (holding yellow voting cards) should vote on
motions pertaining to USS.
7.60?
7.61? HE35 was
carried as amended:
????????? Conference notes:
1. currently USS has ?200 million
invested in British American Tobacco.
2. ?tobacco use is the leading preventable cause
of death in the world. (World Health Organization: The World Health Report
2003).
3. ?that large tobacco
companies have been, and continue to be, exposed to multi-billion pound
lawsuits because of the proven damage to health caused by tobacco.
4. USS considers itself to be a leader in responsible
investment.
5. 51福利 existing policy is to work with ShareAction (formerly
FairPensions) to attempt to improve the practices of companies in which USS
invests, but not to restrict itself to ‘responsible investment’ and to press
for policies of ethical investment, including divestment from companies whose
practices cannot be reformed because of the intrinsic nature of the companies’
activities.
Conference
therefore calls upon USS to review this investment to identify whether similar
financial returns could be gained from investments that do not cause death and
misery to millions around the world.
8??? End of sector conference/close of business
8.1???? The Chair thanked all
delegates in attendance and the staff. The Chair reminded delegates of the fringe
event, Knowledge Economy, which was taking place on the third floor. Sector
Conference was brought to a close at 17:30. ?