Motion to HEC: Focus on Defending Jobs and Reforming UK HE

Dear subscriber,

Two UCU Commons HEC members are bringing the following motion to the special HEC meeting on Wednesday 19th February. We are looking for UCU members in HE to add their names in support of the motion. If you support the motion, and want to sign our open letter, please do so here.

Please note that if you sign this letter, your name and institution will be made public on our website. Names will be updated there every day.

Please forward this message to your contacts in HE, and ask that they do the same.

A copy of the motion is below.

In solidarity

UCUCommons

Focus on defending jobs & reforming UK HE

HEC notes:

1. Launch of Stop the Cuts HE campaign by UCU
2. Continued announcement of HE redundancies across the UK
3. UK-wide strike ballot costs upwards of £200,000

HEC believes:

1. Branches need to direct member energy to fight disputes over jobs
2. A pay rise is worthless for a member that does not have a job
3. To stem the rot, wholesale reform of HE is needed by reforming the broken funding model, achieving equitable student distribution, and ending the hostile environment
4. There is no appetite from lay members for a UK-wide ballot on last year’s pay
5. Union resources in the amount of £200,000+ should not be wasted on a futile ballot

HEC resolves:

1. To call off plans for a UK-wide industrial action ballot
2. To focus energies on root-and-branch reform of UK HE
3. To preserve union resources for supporting branches in local disputes

Proposed by Vivek Thuppil, seconded by Mark Pendleton

(150 words)