HEC Report, Friday 7th March 2025

by UCU Commons NEC members

A calendared meeting of HEC took place on Friday 7 March. The purpose of this meeting was partly to approve motions to go to the Higher Education Sector Conference, which takes place every year on the second day of UCU’s annual congress (at the same time as the Further Education Sector Conference for FE business). This year, Congress is in a hybrid format, with the in-person event taking place in Liverpool, 24–26 May.

Near the start of the meeting, we were asked to approve minutes of the calendared HEC from 27 September 2024, and the special HEC of 12 December 2024. Commoner Jo Edge had emailed the Chair and Head of HE in advance to request an addition to the minutes of 12 December. In this meeting, we were told that it was possible that UCEA would withdraw from discussing the non-pay elements of our claim if we went ahead with a ballot on pay. As a direct result of HEC’s ill-advised decision to call this ballot, on 17 December UCEA wrote to UCU to say they would be withdrawing from this work. This was not a decision taken because UNISON had already decided to ballot by the time HEC met, although we were told it was a possibility this had already jeopardised this work. The reason given by UCEA was that the decision to withdraw was made as a result of HEC’s decision on 12 December. That we had been told this was a possibility was not included in the draft minutes, however, and we felt its inclusion was paramount in order to be clear that HEC voted as it did in the face of advice which indicated a risk. A vote was taken on whether to make a decision at this meeting or defer until all relevant officials were present. HEC voted to defer the approval of these minutes until the next meeting.

We were given a verbal report from the Head of Bargaining, Organising, Representation and Operations on the progress on motions passed at the Special HEC of 19 February which, for reasons of industrial sensitivity, cannot be discussed here. We also had an update on individual branches in dispute, and the rally and lobby at Parliament on 18 March. Unfortunately, certain members of UCU Left insisted on making comments about the inadequate advertising of the rally and lobby, despite the fact information had been circulated in the Friday email and Branch Officers’ Update. Criticisms of the General Secretary were made, despite the fact she does not report to HEC and therefore was not present, and so we were once again obliged to call out unfair criticisms of someone not in attendance.

UCU Left members also expressed dissatisfaction with the need for branches to carry out consultative ballots to take place before launching into local industrial action ballots. These, in our view, are absolutely necessary to gauge member enthusiasm for such action, because IA ballots are both expensive and time-consuming and should only be undertaken if there is a reasonable expectation of participation. UCU Left members made further criticisms about rules surrounding the Fighting Fund. The fact is, it is completely proper that branches taking industrial action who have considerable savings either donate these savings to the central hardship fund for administration or administer their own payments first, before tapping into the central fund, which is there for all branches. Sitting on reserves of cash in these situations is not a good use of our resources when our sector is in an unprecedented crisis.

We had the usual verbal reports from the presidents and representatives of our devolved nations, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as useful reports and discussion of both the Terms of Reference for UCU’s AI working group, and USS and TPS pensions, before moving on to the discussion of motions.

Four motions were submitted to HEC. These are reproduced, with amendments (both instances drafting amendments to make the motions orderly), as an appendix below.

Due to time constraints, the Chair of HEC proposed taking motions in one debate. Due to the controversial nature of some motions, this decision was challenged, which fell. The biggest area of debate was around Motion 2, on military divestment. Commoner Bijan Parsia argued that it was difficult to see how the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza or Sudan could be solved by research into climate change and water shortages, and that the motion was problematic for some UCU members who might come from and/or have family living in these areas. Another concern was the motion’s internal contradiction: as it both called for unrestricted research and the restriction of research: essentially, Parsia argued, if HEC is going to say we oppose certain kinds of academic freedom, we need to say this upfront rather than burying it.

We also heard from UCU Commons member Vivek Thuppil, who moved his important motion (3) on USS divestment from Tesla, Meta and Alphabet.

Sadly the meeting ran out of time before we could vote on all motions. Motion 1, and Motion 2 (as amended) passed, but we were unable to vote on Motion 3 (Thuppil’s) or Motion 4. It is a shame that HEC spends so much time asking bad faith questions of officials rather than spending time on important matters. Our final meeting before Congress takes place on Friday 4th April 2025.

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Motions submitted

1. Linking casualised redundancies to the fightback in HE (for submission to HESC 2025)

Proposed by Christina Paine, seconded by Marion Hersh

HEC notes:

• The HE redundancy crisis often means casualised staff to be hit first: losing hours, contracts not renewed: work redistributed without formal redundancy procedures or compensation.

• This has a high impact on equality strands. UCU lacks centralised data on this. Employers use bogus arguments to load hours onto overworked FTE staff.

• Casualised job losses are key in coordinated UK-wide industrial action. Dundee shows branches fighting early on for casualised workers strengthens members' ability to fight for permanent staff jobs.

HEC resolves:

To urgently survey all branches on:

• Loss of casualised teaching hours; non-renewal of contracts; changes to local agreements on casualised work.
• Immediate data on the impact of job losses on equality groups to strengthen bargaining and industrial action.

To produce:

• A UK-wide report for HEC and ACC (then branches) exposing the impact of redundancies on casualised staff.

• A bargaining and action guide for branches to defend casualised workers.

2. Trusted Research, Human Rights and Military Research and Divestment (for submission to HESC 2025)

proposed by Marion Hersh, seconded by Christina Paine

UCUG/HEC deplores continuing support for military research by universities and funding bodies.

UCUG/HEC believes that

1. National security should be replaced by global security.

2. Research shows the best way to achieve peace and international security is research on solving global problems such as climate change and water shortage.

3. Legislation on trusted research, the Export Controls Act and National Security and Investment Act make it more difficult to do research

4. It is hypocritical for government to support the developing military technologies for use in some countries, but not others.

UCUG/HEC agrees to

1. Oppose trusted research, the Export Controls Act and National Security and Investment Act.

2. Campaign with other trade unions and broad-based organisations for the overthrow of this legislation.

3. To call on universities to show real concern for human rights by ending all military research and divesting in firms involved in arms sales to Israel.

Drafting amendment:

1. Under HESC believes

Delete the Export Controls Act and National Security and Investment Act

2. under HESC agrees

Delete in point 1 'the Export Controls Act and National Security and Investment Act'.

Add at end after 'trusted research',

Replace 2 with

Provide a briefing paper on the threat to research posed by "trusted research", organising and carrying out research that supports and respects all countries and cultures and supporting colleagues who experience difficulties due to it.

3. USS divestment from Tesla, Meta, and Alphabet (for submission to HESC 2025)

proposed by Vivek Thuppil

HEC notes:

1. Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Google’s enthusiastic embrace of Trump Administration

2. Netherlands’ largest pension fund has sold all of its shares in Tesla, Meta, and Alphabet

3. USS currently invests in all three companies

4. USS defined contribution ethical investment plans prohibit investment in companies that do not meet the established Ethical Guidelines

5. Ethical Guidelines were established following member survey conducted in 2020 and 2021

HEC believes:

1. Investment in Alphabet, Meta, and Tesla is no longer compliant with Ethical Guidelines

2. Members who choose ethical options for investing their funds do not want to invest in these companies

HEC resolves:

1. To immediately lobby USS for removal of all three companies from USS ethical investment plans

2. To push USS to investigate whether these stocks are still financially beneficial for in the general investment portfolio.

4. Making a Sectoral Calendar of Key Semester Dates

proposed by Grant Buttars

HEC notes:

1. term times and exam periods vary

2. timing industrial action to suit all branches is tricky.

HEC believes:

1. a readily available matrix of key dates for each institution, arranged by nation or region, would assist in making decisions related to industrial action (IA)

HEC resolves:

1. to arrange a form to be sent annually to branches to allow the compilation of a matrix of teaching term, exam, and other key dates for their institutions for the coming year.

2. that this matrix be made available to branches online such that it can be seen by branches, and by delegates to any meetings discussing IA, including but not limited to HEC, Congress, Conference and BDMs

3. the time required to collect this data does not provide justification for delaying implementation of decisions by democratic bodies of the union on IA.

Drafting amendment

1. Under “resolves 2” change:

“that this matrix be made available to branches online such that it can be seen by branches, and by delegates to any meetings discussing IA, including but not limited to HEC, Congress, Conference and BDMs.”

To read:

that this matrix be made available to HE branches online such that it can be seen by branches, and by delegates to any meetings discussing HE IA, including but not limited to HEC, HE sector conference and HE BDMs.

2. Motion to be approved as a motion to HESC 2025, and references to HEC to be changed to HESC.