Motion passed at GUCU branch meeting 25/11/2024
This branch notes that:
Members of Unite UCU, the union representing UCU workers, remain in dispute with UCU over issues of:
- racism and serious equalities concerns
- a safety and workplace stress crisis
- a breach of their recognition agreement and other agreed policies and procedures
- UCU’s failure to meaningfully negotiate on multiple issues, including hybrid working
- UCU undermining and worsening industrial relations
- (Fuller details of the dispute here)
- This Solidarity with Unite UCU motion was passed at a GUCU branch meeting that took place on 10 September
- Pay negotiations for the 2024/25 year, which should have commenced in April 2024, have been refused by UCU while the Unite UCU branch’s dispute over their Campaign for a Safe and Professional – and anti-racist – workplace remains unresolved
- Unite UCU branch overwhelmingly passed this motion on 18 October calling on the employer to enter into pay negotiations by 28 October
- UCU did not meet this deadline and continue to refuse to enter into pay negotiations while the original dispute remains live, leading Unite UCU to enter a second dispute with their employers on 30 October (read more here)
This branch believes that:
- UCU have made no meaningful contribution to resolving the ongoing dispute over working conditions, nor have they shown any genuine commitment to address the issues highlighted by this dispute
- UCU are enacting an effective pay freeze on our Unite UCU comrades whose job it is to facilitate and support the work of our union, at a time when UCU is consulting its own members on a pay dispute over a lower than inflation pay rise
- Unite UCU members are already suffering financial hardship due to the ongoing cost of living crisis, and this is exacerbated by wages being deliberately held down by their employer
- UCU’s refusal to negotiate on pay whilst the dispute over workplace conditions remains live effectively penalises workers for exercising their trade union rights, and should be decried loudly and vigorously by UCU branches
- As our previous motion stated, no employer should treat its workers in the way UCU has treated Unite UCU members. Trade unions should model best practice, not emulate the worst management practices
- UCU should enter into negotiations over Unite UCU’s pay claim for 2024/25 immediately
- UCU should agree to a substantial pay uplift for their workers and this should be appropriately backdated
This branch resolves to:
- Make a donation of £5000 to the Unite UCU hardship fund
- Donate additional strike funds to cover any pay deductions experienced by our branch organiser as a result of taking strike action, should Unite UCU vote to take strike action over either dispute, in order to ensure that they do not experience any financial hardship
- Write to Jo Grady outlining the position of our branch, urging her to halt the restructure immediately and reverse the effective pay freeze
- Post a statement of support on BlueSky which is Unite UCU branch’s platform of choice