This motion was passed at GUCU Branch meeting on 12/01/2024
Goldsmiths UCU branch notes that:
- Following the announcement of a £14.2 million shortfall in the forecasted budget, and the four initial workstreams of the Transformation Programme, our branch has now exhausted the failure to agree process that was initiated after passing this emergency motion
- Since the end of the dispute resolution meetings triggered by our failure to agree notice, our branch then passed this emergency motion committing our branch to initiate an indicative poll on industrial action – the next in a number of steps towards a local dispute
- An extraordinary meeting of Council took place on Tuesday 9 January, but an all colleague meeting on Wednesday 10 January in which David Oswell was due to update staff was cancelled at short notice, and so any decisions taken by Council have not been shared with staff and students
This branch believes that:
- The Warden and the Senior Management Team (SMT) have failed to meaningfully consult with staff and students regarding the plans set out in the Transformation Programme workstreams
- That plans for module & programme reduction and the restructuring of academic units are ideologically driven, as SMT intend to use the current financial situation as a pretence for reshaping the college once again
- That SMT seem set to fail to meet their own targets for cost savings through the Transformation Programme, making the prospect of compulsory redundancies at some point this academic year seem inevitable
This branch resolves to:
- Encourage all branch members to participate in the indicative poll, which will be launched this month, as a high turnout will send a clear message to SMT and Council
- Recommend that in the indicative poll, branch members vote YES to strike action and YES to action short of a strike, including a marking and assessment boycott