This motion was passed at a GUCU Branch meeting on 30/07/2024
This branch notes that:
- Following a request from GUCU to go into collective conciliation, Goldsmiths’ management agreed to enter into talks mediated by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).
- Talks took place on Monday 15 and Monday 22 July, with a third day currently scheduled for Wednesday 31 July.
- At an additional meeting scheduled outside of ACAS – convened as a space for management to attend to a number of unanswered questions put to them by GUCU negotiators – members of the senior management team (SMT) presented a ‘full and final offer’ to GUCU attendees, with no prior warning and just over 24 hours in which to respond.
This branch believes that:
- This erratic behaviour from management, in addition to their admission that the Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB) has caused significant disruption, evidences the impact of our collective actions.
- It is not possible for staff not currently at risk to go back to ‘normal’ in September, after the brutal and appalling treatment of staff in the 11 affected departments throughout this disastrous, unnecessary and ill-conceived process.
- Now is the time to apply maximum industrial leverage on management, just as their intransigence has begun to dissipate.
This branch resolves to:
- Fight for all staff who wish to remain at Goldsmiths – consistent with our demand for no compulsory redundancies – by continuing to hold the line in the MAB.
- Use this leverage to fight for the best possible terms for any members who wish to leave Goldsmiths.
- Call an indefinite strike from Monday 23 September, contingent upon a successful outcome in our current reballot.
- Redouble our fundraising efforts, so we can continue to support members throughout this period of industrial action.