Motion and Amendments & Reminder - EGM today, Wednesday 23rd August,1-2pm on Zoom

This is a reminder plus one Motion and two Amendments for our branch Emergency General Meeting today: 

Wednesday 23rd August, 1-2pm on Zoom 
(Please remember to register for the EGM meeting to get a zoom link for your diary)

This meeting has been convened to review the latest MAB developments in the light of the recent HEC decisions to call further strike action before the end of September and to launch a reballot in the pay and conditions dispute.

There is one Motion and two Amendments for members to debate and vote on at the meeting. We will hear proposers for each of these and then have a general debate before voting.

UCL UCU Executive
www.ucl.ac.uk
@ucl_ucu  

Appendix 1: Motions and Amendments

Motion 1: Progressing the Four Fights dispute

Proposed by: Tony Brown

UCL UCU notes:

1. The serious disruption caused by the MAB to management, students, and workers throughout the sector.
2. The punitive pay deductions that have been applied to members participating in MAB, nationally and at UCL.
3. That employers have disregarded academic standards in order to undermine the effectiveness of the MAB, and progress or graduate students.
4. That the delay by the General Secretary (GS) and officers of the union in authorising a new ballot for industrial action means there will be a break in the current legal mandate for industrial action, which expires at the end of September.
5. The MAB is part of a national dispute, and decisions need to be addressed by the national consultative (BDM) and decision making bodies of the UCU (HEC, GS and officers).
6. UCU’s Higher Education Committee (HEC) has agreed to:

1. Call industrial action in the first week of term under our current mandate;

1. Start an industrial action ballot at the earliest opportunity over ‘Four Fights’;

1. Survey members on next steps for the MAB.

UCL UCU believes:

1. Staff that have participated in the MAB cannot instantaneously complete boycotted work on the 1 October.
2. UCL needs staff goodwill to address complaints and possible legal action by students who have been affected by UCL’s actions to compromise academic standards to undermine the MAB.
3. Starting the industrial action ballot pressurises our employers.

UCL UCU resolves:

1. That existing marking and assessment which has not been carried out due to MAB will not be marked unless and until UCL management withdraw their threat of pay deductions.
2. To continue to challenge the legality of punitive pay deductions at UCL.
3. To campaign and build support for strike action in the first week of term.
4. To start preparations for the industrial action ballot as soon as possible.

Amendment 1

Proposed by: Ilektra Christidi

In resolves 3, substitute "the first week of term" with "induction week".
Rationale: the first week of term is after our mandate expires.
 

Amendment 2

Proposed by: Sean Wallis

Change first Notes 6a, "Call industrial action in the first week of term under our current mandate" to "Call five days of strike action in either of the last two weeks of our current mandate (with flexibility where student terms have not commenced)"

Change Resolves 3, "To campaign and build support for strike action in the first week of term." to "To send a clear signal to university employers (and new students) that the dispute is not over by calling five days of strike action in induction week of Term 1, and to carry out all necessary preparatory steps to ensure that this action is a success."

Purpose: to clarify the week of strike action locally (agreed by HEC but with the potential to vary by institution), and to emphasise that there will be a need to organise to ensure that it is successful.