Passed at GUCU branch meeting 24.06.2022 (unanimous 49 in favour)
This branch notes that:
- The decision by the HoDs of the STaCS department not to renew the fixed-term contract of the only full-time Black member of the Social Work team is racist and jeopardises and undermines the teaching experience of all students on the Social Work programmes, the majority of whom are black students and global majority students.
- Prioritising the recruitment of multiple Senior Lecturers/Lecturers with PhDs in a department that centres around professional qualifying courses, and not renewing the contracts of black academic staff who have extensive teaching experience, and are registered, qualified and experienced practitioners, on the basis that they do not currently possess a PhD and have not been actively supported to gain one either, is both racist and elitist. There needs to be reasonable balance between these roles.
- Despite commendations from various external and internal bodies, practitioner and teaching and learning expertise are not recognised, valued, or respected in the same way as research is, even though staff on teaching and scholarship contracts invariably provide the backbone of most programmes. We have substantive serious ongoing concerns regarding the university’s failure to fully meet and comply with many of the programmes in STACs PSRB requirements, which should be properly resourced, respected, valued and rewarded within the university. We have serious concerns by the failure of the current local managers to provide line management support in line with the colleges policies and the continuing failure to comply with local established college procedures.
- This forms a pattern which local management have tried to pursue since 2017 when fractional part-time lecturers on the BA Applied Social Science CD&YW programme were threatened with redundancy and replacement by full-time lecturers with PhDs through an illegal restructure, which GUCU responded to by initiating the Fight Elitism campaign. Despite the ACAS intervention in the department in 2018-19, commitments around supporting staff on teaching and scholarship contracts never materialised. Over recent years staff on fixed term/ fractional part-time teaching and scholarship contracts are increasingly facing precarity as despite the work still being required, their fixed-term or variations of contracts (which should be permanent contract changes) are not extended, and full-time staff with PhDs are recruited in their place.
- This pattern also reflects the recent flawed APR redundancy process in the ECW and History departments in which the academics at risk of redundancy were predominantly those on teaching and scholarship, and fractional part-time contracts, as the selection process was skewed towards full-time and research active staff
- Goldsmiths’ claim to be committed to racial justice is seriously undermined by these calculated and deliberate acts and decisions, which locally and publicly damage the reputation of the college. White and Black staff in the department have reported to GUCU ongoing racial microaggressions and a lack of support for black staff when these have been reported, unfavourable treatment in contrast to white staff in relation to promotions, and lack of support when pursuing PhDs. Staff in the department have also raised concerns about the lack of commitment to the recruitment of black and global majority teaching staff on all programmes and the requirement to undertake equality impact assessments.
- In addition, GUCU are aware of other black and global majority staff who are currently being threatened with redundancy due to illegitimate non-renewal of their fixed their contracts
This branch believes
- The lack of commitment to retaining and recruiting black and global majority academic staff, the non-renewal of the contracts of black and global majority staff and the ongoing unfavourable treatment is particularly damaging to the staff concerned, but to all staff, students and the college and directly contradicts our values and ethos
- Whilst we value the contribution of research to teaching and learning, continuing to prioritise and recruit research active staff with PhDs at Senior Lecturer level and to devalue the role of staff on teaching and scholarship contracts including fixed-term and fractional part-time staff by making them redundant or reducing their hours or keeping them on precarious contracts, undermines students teaching and learning experience
This branch resolves:
- To demand that SMT/Head of School immediately withdraw the notice to end the fixed-term contract of the black member of the Social Work team and to offer a permanent contract on the basis that there is no justification for this contract to have been initially issued on a fixed-term basis
- To demand SMT stop the illegitimate redundancies of black and global majority staff in other departments
- For SMT/Head of School to withdraw the recent and proposed adverts for Senior Lecturers/Lecturers with PhDs or including PhD supervision duties for Social Work and CD&YW programmes and to meet with staff in these and other programme areas, to discuss what the real requirements of these programmes are, taking into account the PSRB requirements and expectations, subject areas, the diversity of the staff and student group and the professional practice requirements.
- To demand that SMT/Head of School meet with staff to listen to and share the experience of black and global majority staff and white staff in the department and to identify solutions
- To call on SMT/Head of School to meet with staff to discuss the many other unresolved issues that have further deteriorated despite the ACAS intervention, including, non-compliance with Goldsmiths Framework Agreement (including in relation to multipliers, contracts and progression), intensification of workloads, recruitment issues of staff to programmes including increasing precarity due to fixed-term contracts being issued for ongoing work as well as lack of input from programme convenors and other colleagues with the appropriate expertise, also a need to support Teaching and Scholarship staff and acknowledgement for practice-based research and scholarship.
- To notify SMT/ Head of School that if these demands are not met, the Fight Elitism in STaCS campaign will be restarted and escalated to Fight Elitism, Fight Racism by the branch, including closely working with student groups and the Student’s Union.
Proposed: Susan Westman
Seconded: Andrew Linton