Margot Hill (Croydon College)

Election address

I am a lecturer at Croydon College. As Branch Secretary, I have led strikes on pay and anti-casualisation. I am also Secretary for London Region

This has been a year where the link between oppression and the need for collective action that resists it has never been more important. Covid-19 exposed all of the fault lines in our society. We are not all in it together and change is essential. In Further Education we entered the pandemic having lost 24,000 teaching jobs in the last ten years, underpaid, micromanaged with our professionalism eviscerated.  The pressures and anxieties that members have gone through this year have exacerbated the already heavy burden on members and branches and the equalities deficit deepen.

The murder of George Floyd on 25 May woke the world up to the rotten consequences of a failure to address the deep divisions and injustices in our societies. Protests and demonstrations have been inspirational and we must work to build this movement for change. We have to make Black Lives Matter a reality in our workplaces and our Communities. UCU must play an important part in fighting for this. Education helps shape the future, and the conditions within which it operates define it effectiveness.  This future also includes the Climate Emergency and we need to reshape all aspects of college practice and social policy to address this emergency.. Further Education must provide the skills and education that will help make the demand for a million climate change jobs real.

As a candidate for the FE NEC seat I will campaign for:-

• Solidarity for all workers in struggle including working to co-ordinate and spread support for action
• Collectivise campaigning and action to address the equalities deficit. Do not rely on individualized casework alone to resolve discrimination.
• National pay awards above the rate of inflation and against cuts in Pension provision. Claims to address equalities deficit
• Strong Regional structures that bring branches and members together to co-ordinate campaigns and actions and build solidarity
• For publicly funded free education that is de-colonised, progressive and developmental end the exam factory.
• Build branches that are active, inclusive and anti racist.
• End to punitive observations regimes, restore professional status for teachers through meaningful CPD developed by lecturers for lecturers
• Full employment rights for all in our workplaces regardless of nationality.
• Join forces with all workers fighting back and Put People before Profit.

We have important choices to make in this election I encourage you to vote For me  and for Saleem Rashid  for the two FE NEC seats and for UCU Left candidates who like me will argue and campaign for us to use our collective strength to put up a fight.