Legal Support Motion

A pink and red round sticker with the image of a toilet roll saying 'Bin the T.P.'

This motion was passed at a GUCU Branch meeting on 17/05/2024

  1. Goldsmiths UCU is currently involved in a dispute with the College regarding proposed compulsory redundancies across 11 academic departments.
  2. Goldsmiths UCU is actively engaging all available avenues to exert pressure on Goldsmiths Senior Management to urge them to abandon the planned redundancies.
  3. Individual stage 1 consultation meetings are currently slated to conclude on the 22nd of May.
  4. Should the College proceed with compulsory redundancies post-stage 1, an outcome report will be generated, finalising the redundancy plan and triggering stage 2 of the redundancy process.

The Branch Believes: 

  1. The College has disregarded its own policies in executing the redundancy process.
  2. Meaningful consultation with affected staff members has been absent during the formative stages of the redundancy plan.
  3. The College has neglected to engage in consultation with Trade Unions regarding the PSE, a criterion which will be used in the redundancy scoring process.
  4. The College has failed in fulfilling its equalities obligations as a public sector employer throughout this redundancy process.
  5. GUCU is well-positioned to legally challenge any redundancy selections resulting from the current proposed plan.
  6. Constructing a legal case against the College constitutes a crucial component of the branch’s strategy to combat the redundancies.

The Branch Resolves:

  1. To Instruct UCU legal for the purposes of advising on potential causes of action against College.
  2. To constitute a legal committee which will have oversight over legal administration and instruction on behalf of the branch. 
  3. If further advice is needed, subject to branch endorsement, the branch will seek external legal advice and allocate branch funds for the retention of external legal services to bolster the branch’s challenge against the proposed redundancies.
  4. In the event that external legal advice is sought, the use of branch funds for legal services will be monitored by members. Every time expenditures reach a £5000 threshold, members will be consulted in a branch meeting to endorse further expenditure.