911±¬ÁÏÍø

This is a reminder that there will be an Emergency General Meeting of UCL UCU taking place online via zoom on Thursday 2 May from 13:00-14:30 (please note the duration of this meeting is 1.5 hours). Ìý

· Please register in advance.Ìý Members have been sent a link via email.

This meeting has been called to discuss:

1. The urgent matter of 11 redundancies of teaching staff in the History Department: we believe management has breached key negotiated policies, including those for organisational change and redeployment, as well as the Teaching Concordat. One motion on this has been submitted, see Appendix 1 below and one Amendment to this motion has been submitted, see Appendix 3 below.

2. Motions for the Special Higher Education Sector Conference called for 17 May on the pattern of attacks in higher education and the future of the sector. One motion has been submitted, see Appendix 2 below.

No amendments to Congress motions were received but places are being held for UCL UCU delegates. If colleagues are able to attend Congress, please email ucu@ucl.ac.uk if you are interested.

All members are encouraged to attend this Emergency General Meeting.ÌýÌý

UCL UCU Executive Committee
/ucu
@ucl_ucu

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Appendix 1 - Motion: Redundancies - Attacking Teaching Staff in the History Department

ÌýThis branch notes

1. The proposal to make 10 members of staff redundant in the History Department
2. That all the redundancies are among teaching staff
3. That the Organisational Change Procedures and redeployment procedures have not been properly applied for these colleagues
4. That 911±¬ÁÏÍø agreed a Teaching Concordat in 2021 that proposed to make sure that Teaching staff were not treated as disposable staff on insecure contracts

This branch believes

1. That the selecting of teaching staff for redundancies in a department on this scale signals a breach of the principles of the Teaching Concordat
2. That this kind of attack threatens teaching staff generally at 911±¬ÁÏÍø
3. That these redundancies are unacceptable and unnecessary

This branch resolves

1. That, should compulsory redundancies go ahead in the History department, UCL UCU will notify management of our entry into a dispute with UCLÌý

Proposers: Jack Saunders, Saladin Meckled-Garcia, Matteo Tiratelli

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Appendix 2 - SHESC Motion. Supporting a Convention for Higher Education

SHESC notes

1. The crisis in HE, leading to UUK and UCEA lobbying for high fees and implementing mass redundancies.
2. The roots of this crisis lie in the 2010 fees and loans market system, with the English model increasing pressure on HEIs in other nations.
3. The need to build a broad political consensus in defence of higher education.
4. The partial success of the broad-based 2016 HE Convention initiative in lobbying Government to amend the Higher Education and Research Act.
5. UCU's latest Reclaim HE campaign.

SHESC resolves

1. To support calls for a reconvened Convention for Higher Education initiated by London Region (date to be determined).
2. To send a speaker to this event to discuss UCU's campaigns including Reclaim HE.
3. To build and advertise this event.
4. To support and mobilise for a national demonstration at Goldsmiths University, called by Goldsmiths and London Region UCU.

Submitted by Sean Wallis

Appendix 3 - Amendment 1 to Motion 1

Replace 'this branch resolves' point 1 with the following:

1. That, unless UCL agrees to guarantee no compulsory redundancies in the History department, UCL UCU will invoke the collective dispute resolution procedure, under the terms of Appendix 2 in UCL's Trade Union Recognition Agreement, and immediately notify the Provost of a formal dispute if agreement to defend our members from the threat of compulsory redundancy cannot be reached at JCNC.

Rationale: to expedite a formal dispute with UCL to better pressurise negotiations, and clarify process under the terms of our recognition agreement.

Submitted by Tony Brown

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