This motion will be discussed at GUCU AGM, Thurs 1 July.
This branch recognises:
- that PGR students constitute a significant portion of our casualised workforce, and as such perform crucial but, all too often, undervalued work;
- that PGR students, in their intersecting roles as casualised workers, students and early career scholars, have been particularly affected by the global crisis brought on by COVID-19;
- that PGR students, because of their specific location straddling the precarious workforce and student body, are posed to be particularly affected by the long-term crisis of the Higher Education sector, beyond the immediate tragedy of the pandemic;
- that PGR students deserve recognition and protection from their union;
This branch resolves to:
- Create the role a PGR officer on GUCU’s Executive Committee, in order to ensure that the interests of PGR students are adequately represented;
- Call for protections for postgraduate students including extensions of scholarships, protections around access to paid work, suspension of fees for self-funded students and students in their fourth year of study, and to suspend deadlines and annual reviews;