Higher Education Sector Conference 2015

Motions have been allocated to a section of the NEC's report to Congress (UCU635). Paragraph headings refer to paragraphs within this report. CBC has added some new paragraph headings to facilitate the ordering of motions.

Section 2 of the NEC's report to Congress

Motions 1-9 to be taken in private session.

Motions:

HE1 - National claim/negotiations with UCEA
L1 - Pay
HE2 - Erosion from National Framework Agreement
HE3 - Performance related pay in HE
HE4 - 2015 Pay and pay equality claims
HE5 - Failure of trustees to act prudently
HE6 - Challenging the USS deficit
HE7 - USS: members in post-92 institutions
HE8 - Election of USS negotiators
HE9 - Information to USS scheme members prior to ballot
HE10 - Focus on disability leave
HE11 - Day of action on challenging racism in HE
HE12 - Access to HE with reference to inclusion of all communities
HE13 - The marketisation of equality
HE14 - Lad culture
HE15 - New JNCHES hourly paid and casual staff working group
HE16 - Casualisation/zero-hours
HE17 - Casualised employment and invisibility in higher education
HE18 - Research Excellence Framework
HE19 - Research Excellence Framework
L2 - Bargaining guidance on teaching focussed contracts
HE20 - REF impact on women
HE21 - Disabled members and the REF
HE22 - Academic standards and their use in performance management
HE23 - The damaging ultra-competitive culture in scientific research
HE24 - The changing face of academic-related, professional staff
HE25 - Taking charge of our own careers
HE26 - Professional support for academic staff
HE27 - Women's Studies MA course at Ruskin College
HE28 - Redundancy by restructuring
HE29 - Settlement agreements (compromise agreements)
HE30 - Campaigning on increasing democracy in the HE sector
HE31 - Conference cancellation and academic freedom
HE32 - Workloads
HE33 - Tackling workplace stress
HE34 - Abuse of student feedback questionnaires
HE35 - Defend professionalism - fight workload abuse
HE36 - Defend professionalism; resist attacks on academic judgement
HE37 - Negative impact of electronic learning
HE38 - Teacher education and higher education
HE39 - UCU response to pay docking
HE40 - Industrial strategy
HE41 - Use of online ballots
HE42 - Using electronic balloting
HE43 - Facing outwards as an educational trade union
HE44 - Support for part-time students

(EP) advisory marking
denoting UCU existing policy

Pay, paragraphs 2.1 - 2.2  (Private session)

HE1 National claim/negotiations with UCEA - Higher Education Committee

Conference notes the report and approves the recommendations from the national negotiators contained in UCUHE/248.

CARRIED

L1 Pay - Leeds Beckett University

Conference notes the national negotiators' report, UCUHE/248, and the proposal to put the 1% offer out to a full ballot of members.

Conference resolves that UCU should call for members to REJECT the offer, and to vote YES for strike action and action short of a strike in furtherance of the dispute. UCU must actively campaign amongst members to explain why the pay campaign is particularly important this year after many years of real-terms pay cuts.

CARRIED

HE2 Erosion from National Framework Agreement - University of Liverpool

HESC notes the increased erosion from the National Framework Agreement which is impacting negatively across the sector. Issues include grade slippage, incorrect pay, ignored role profiles and other related areas. Repeated breaches of this agreement create major concerns for our members.

HESC resolves to:

1. Make adherence to the Framework Agreement including local agreements on implementation, a top priority for UCU
2. Identify test cases
3. Use the full force of the union and press for industrial action which will be classed of national interest in institutions where test cases are found

   CARRIED AS AMENDED
   

HE2A.1 Academic-related, Professional Staff Committee

Opening paragraph:

First sentence, insert after 'across the sector.': 'This particularly affects Academic Related, Professional Staff in pre 92 institutions.'

Second sentence, insert after 'ignored role profiles': ', red circling leading to loss of USS pension entitlement,'

Bullet point 1, insert after 'a top priority for UCU': 'for both academic and academic related, professional staff groups'.

CARRIED

SUBSTANTIVE MOTION

HESC notes the increased erosion from the National Framework Agreement which is impacting negatively across the sector. This particularly affects academic related, professional staff in pre 92 institutions. Issues include grade slippage, incorrect pay, ignored role profiles, red circling leading to loss of USS pension entitlement, and other related areas. Repeated breaches of this agreement create major concerns for our members.

HESC resolves to:

1. make adherence to the Framework Agreement including local agreements on implementation, a top priority for UCU for both academic and academic related, professional staff groups
2. identify test cases
3. use the full force of the union and press for industrial action which will be classed of national interest in institutions where test cases are found.

HE3 Performance related pay in HE - University of Brighton Grand Parade

Conference notes the apparent determination of UCEA at the JNCHES meeting of 24 April to tie any pay offer for 2015-16 to performance related pay.

Conference believes that:

1. PRP has no place in HE as it is divisive, iniquitous and arbitrary;
2. PRP would seriously undermine the National Framework Agreement by denying annual increments to some staff;
3. UCEA's motive for introducing it is to offset the cost of pay awards and to entrench management control.

Conference instructs

1. the national pay negotiators not to enter into negotiations over PRP or concede any element of it as part of these or any future pay negotiations;
2. the HEC to conduct a survey of branches to ascertain the extent and forms of PRP that may already exist in HE with a view to campaigning with the local branch to eradicate them.

   CARRIED

HE4 2015 Pay and pay equality claims - University of Bath

Conference affirms its support for the joint union pay and pay equality claim submitted to employers on 18 March 2015.

Conference rejects the employers' pay offer made on 24 April.

The offer of 0.9% to all pay points on the 51 point pay scale represents a further real-terms cut in the value of HE pay, on top of the 15% cut in the value of pay since 2009.

Conference deplores the refusal of the employers to address the explosion of pay for high earners in universities - those who are paid above spine point 51 - and restates its call for an end to the growth of pay inequality in the HE sector.

In the absence of a pay offer which restores lost value of pay, Conference calls on the HEC to authorise and conduct a ballot of members with a recommendation for a rolling programme of strike action from October 2015.

CARRIED

USS, paragraphs 4.1 - 4.13   (Private session)

HE5 Failure of Trustees to act prudently - Lancaster University

Conference believes USS trustees ignored factual evidence presented to them which showed the flaws in the fund valuation method and therefore failed to act prudently, responsibly and honestly.

Acting prudently means trustees must act in a way that a prudent person would act in their own affairs, no such person would deliberately reduce future income security based on the information the scheme trustees used to reduce scheme member benefits.

Conference believes therefore, the trustees failed in their legal duty to act in the best interests of scheme beneficiaries (as laid down in The Pensions Acts of 1995 and 2004). The use of flawed scheme valuation data to force detrimental changes goes against existing pension law and breaches the duty of care trustees must exhibit.

As the scheme trustees failed in their legal duty of care, Conference believes a legal challenge must be made to stop the proposed April 2016 changes.

LOST

HE6 Challenging the USS deficit - UCL

Conference notes the USS 'deficit' has been created by a particular interpretation of the value of the assets of the pension scheme and the returns on those assets. This methodology, known as 'gilts plus' artificially created a deficit. The consequence of this deficit is then compounded by the belief that the USS pension scheme is not a multi-employer scheme and the de-risking strategy of a movement of assets into government bonds.

Conference believes this methodological approach will create the conditions for a further deficit and further attacks on our pensions in USS and also in the Teachers' Pension schemes.

Conference rejects the 'gilt plus' methodology used by USS and believes pensions are affordable and agrees to launch a campaign to defend all pensions in HE.

CARRIED

HE7 USS: members in post-92 institutions - Yorkshire and Humberside Regional HE Committee

This HE sector conference notes that:

1. some hundreds of members working in post-92 institutions are USS members.
2. these members were excluded from the UCU consultations and ballot over USS scheme change.

This HE sector conference instructs UCU to:

1. include pension scheme membership details as part of routine membership data collection as a matter of priority
2. provide branches, regions and NEC with details of the numbers of USS members in post-92, institutions, broken down by branch
3. prepare advice for branch officers to facilitate support for USS members in post-92 institutions
4. include all UCU members in the USS pension scheme in future consultations over scheme change.

CARRIED

HE8 Election of USS negotiators - University of Liverpool

HESC resolves that UCU's USS negotiators shall be elected annually at annual HESC, starting with HESC 2015.

The electorate will be the delegates from USS branches to annual HESC.

The USS negotiating team shall be the following:

1. chair of HEC or nominee
2. national official
3. three delegates plus two reserves elected by and from delegates from USS branches to annual HESC.

Candidates for election in category (3) must be in active membership of USS and not already in receipt of a USS pension.

CARRIED AS AMENDED

HE8A.1 Higher Education Committee

End of first sentence, delete '2015' and replace with '2016'.

CARRIED

Drafting amendment from the floor: final sentence insert 'full' before 'USS pension' at the end

SUBSTANTIVE MOTION

HESC resolves that UCU's USS negotiators shall be elected annually at annual HESC, starting with HESC 2015.

The electorate will be the delegates from USS branches to annual HESC.

The USS negotiating team shall be the following:

1. chair of HEC or nominee
2. national official
3. three delegates plus two reserves elected by and from delegates from USS branches to annual HESC.

Candidates for election in category (3) must be in active membership of USS and not already in receipt of a full USS pension.

HE9 Information to USS scheme members prior to ballot - University of Lincoln

Sector Conference notes that the UCU campaign literature and banner headlines in relation to the changes to the USS pension scheme accepted earlier this year were not accurate and painted an unfairly optimistic picture of the changes.

In particular, Sector Conference notes that the slogan 'up to 27% off your pension', which implies that no pension will be cut more than 27%, was in fact grossly inaccurate, and that a significant proportion of USS members will see cuts of over 50% in their pensions.

Sector Conference deplores the use of inaccurate and misleading campaign literature and recognises that this may have had a material impact on the outcome of ballots in relation to the campaign. Sector Conference calls on the HEC to ensure that in future, where inaccurate literature is identified by members, it will be immediately removed and replaced by a fair and accurate version.

REMITTED

Equality, after paragraph 3.3

HE10 Focus on disability leave - Disabled Members' Standing Committee

UCU has celebrated Disability History Month since its launch in 2010. The month provides an opportunity to focus on disabled members' issues. UCU also notes with the concern that the HE national employers' refusal to make disability leave a national agreement has left branches to negotiate this locally. Branches are under huge pressure with pay, pensions and cuts in jobs and services and disability leave needs to be part of this bargaining framework. Disability leave is a key agreement for disabled members when sickness absence is often used to identify staff for redundancy or capability procedures.

Conference calls upon all higher education branches to support a campaign to raise awareness of disability leave in Disability History Month. This will involve

1. promotion of the HE guidance
2. asking branches to raise with their employer
3. focusing disability history month activities on disability leave.

CARRIED

HE11 Day of action on challenging racism in HE - Birmingham City University

Conference notes:

1. the publication of the Runnymede Trust's Aiming Higher report on race, inequality and diversity in higher education;
2. the report's findings, which include:
3. the concentration of 25% of research funding in only five institutions, in contrast to the wide range of institutions where BME students study;
4. BME staff are less likely to hold senior posts, and are more likely to be lower-paid and on casual contracts;
5. The employment of BME staff in UK HE (7.8%) is unrepresentative of UK demographics.

Conference believes that this reflects persistent race discrimination in HE.

Conference resolves to calendar an annual day of action and include all branches, and working together with the NUS, on challenging racism in HE and celebrating the contribution of BME staff and students to UK academia.

CARRIED

HE12 Access to HE with reference to inclusion of all communities - Black Members' Standing Committee

Conference agrees that free debate in universities is vital to a healthy political culture, providing important space to debate controversial matters and to challenge bigotry of all kinds. 

Conference believes universities must play a central role in rebuilding a vibrant culture of debate and democracy that is open to all. 

Conference condemns all attempts to demonise our students, whether they are Muslims or migrants. Only open debate can address the challenges of division, disengagement and hatred. 

Conference agrees to: 

1. examine the influence of racist political parties in areas with limited local access to higher education and the role of universities in challenging racist parties, with a view to lobbying HEFCE on this issue
2. work with NUS Black Students' Campaign and other trade unions to organise campaign events challenging the demonisation of Muslim and international students
3. prepare an open letter for the press condemning the demonisation of Muslim and international students.

CARRIED AS AMENDED

HE12A.1 Higher Education Committee

In point 1. delete 'HEFCE' replace with 'UUK'.

CARRIED

SUBSTANTIVE MOTION

Conference agrees that free debate in universities is vital to a healthy political culture, providing important space to debate controversial matters and to challenge bigotry of all kinds. 

Conference believes universities must play a central role in rebuilding a vibrant culture of debate and democracy that is open to all. 

Conference condemns all attempts to demonise our students, whether they are Muslims or migrants. Only open debate can address the challenges of division, disengagement and hatred. 

Conference agrees to: 

1. examine the influence of racist political parties in areas with limited local access to higher education and the role of universities in challenging racist parties, with a view to lobbying HEFCE on this issue
2. work with NUS Black Students' Campaign and other trade unions to organise campaign events challenging the demonisation of Muslim and international students
3. prepare an open letter for the press condemning the demonisation of Muslim and international students.

HE13 The marketisation of equality - LGBT Members' Standing Committee

Conference welcomes interest in equality in HE, but regrets that often this interest is mainly about promoting the institution. Equality should be a commitment to make substantial difference to the lives of all those within the organisation rather than being a superficially attractive chartermark glossing over disputed practices. Unfortunately many HEIs are more likely to publicise equality as part of offer to students, than a commitment to all and do not publish genuine equality monitoring data. Academics remain concerned that their LGBT research is not regarded highly.

Conference resolves to

1. investigate ways that chartermarks e.g. Stonewall Diversity Champions may be covering up ineffective equality implementation
2. report on how universities are collecting equality data and how it is being used to make a difference
3. issue branch guidance to support analysis of chartermarks mapped to branch monitoring of equality needs
4. continue promoting and engaging with LGBT research activity.

CARRIED

HE14 Composite: Lad culture - Women Members' Standing Committee, UCU Scotland

Conference notes with concern the regular accounts of objectification and violence towards women in the workplace.

Conference further notes, despite commitments to equality by all universities and student unions, there is still a significant problem of sexism, gender inequality and everyday violation of women's bodily autonomy on campus. In particular accounts (for example in Bates 'everyday sexism'-2014: 131-140) relating to higher education require urgent attention.

One aspect of this is often described as 'lad culture' but could alternatively be labelled 'rape culture'.

Women are often too afraid to report sexual assault as they have seen examples of others being vilified and attacked for reporting sexual assault. Universities should be a place where women can feel safe and supported. All UK universities are obliged to protect women students from abuse and harassment.

'Lad culture' requires academic staff and students to work together to tackle this growing epidemic.

Conference calls on HEC to

1. accelerate campaigns to work with students to campaign against objectification and violence towards women
2. work with student associations, NUS and others to support their campaigns and reinforce the message that a culture of abuse will not be tolerated
3. organise campus activities which ensure the issues of 'zero tolerance' are made known and work to ensure that the HE curriculum educates and promotes a 'zero tolerance' culture
4. support the End Violence Against Women Coalition, currently pushing institutions to improve their policy and practice on abuse of women students.

CARRIED

HE14A.1 Women Members' Standing Committee

Remove bullet point 4.

WITHDRAWN

Casualisation and workforce composition paragraph 5.1 - 5.5

HE15 New JNCHES hourly paid and casual staff working group - Anti-Casualisation Committee

Conference welcomes the use of national negotiating machinery on behalf of casualised and hourly paid staff, and the creation of the JNCHES national working group.

Conference instructs HEC to use the report of this group to maximum effect, while maintaining our own clear position on casualised employment.

Conference notes that a small number of case studies have been carried out which suggest:

1. the pay of casualised staff appears to be discretionary and doesn't appear to be negotiated by the local trade unions
2. there is no central HR role - casual staff are employed by and work for the school or department
3. there is a lack of information at institutional level about the employment of casualised staff.

Conference instructs the HEC:

1. to press for more thorough research
2. to remind branches and employers of commitments made to assimilate HPLs under the National Framework Agreement (locally and nationally).

CARRIED

HE16 (EP) Casualisation/zero-hours - Higher Education Committee

Conference welcomes the continuing high profile of UCU's 'Stamp Out Casual Contracts' campaign and the new resources being provided for branches to assist in negotiating on zero-hours contracts and research staff in higher education.

Conference also welcomes the progress made in targeting major employers of zero hours contracts.

Conference affirms UCU's opposition to the use of zero hours contracts and the bargaining advice in 'Ending Zero Hours Contracts in FE and HE'.

Conference resolves to continue building organising, campaigning and putting negotiating pressure on higher education employers to end the use of zero hours contracts and to transfer casualised staff onto more secure contracts.

CARRIED

HE17 Casualised employment and invisibility in higher education - Anti-Casualisation Committee

Conference notes that staff on casualised contracts in higher education often suffer from professional invisibility and lack of recognition from their institutions, including:

1. lack of institutional email address
2. absence of recognition on department web sites
3. lack of access to university intranet and other e-resources.

This invisibility is professionally damaging for staff on casualised contracts. It can affect the relationship with students and other colleagues, can impede career development, and denies dignity at work. Invisibility also impedes the union in contacting and providing effective representation for many staff on casualised contracts.

Conference calls on the HEC to:

1. take a systematic approach to this problem
2. collate examples of good practice in the sector to support branch negotiators
3. provide guidance to branches on requesting information on and communicating with casualised staff groups
4. ask branches to feed back information obtained to assist in constructing a national picture.

CARRIED

Researchers and the REF, paragraphs 6.1 - 6.2

HE18 Composite: Research Excellence Framework - Higher Education Committee, South East Regional HE Sector Committee

Conference welcomes UCU's policy paper on the future of UK research and development 'Seeing the Bigger Picture'.

Conference notes the:

1. completion of submissions to REF 2014, and HEIs' preparations for next REF;
2. risk that these preparations will distort the research agenda;
3. existence of groups concerned with the nature and consequences of the current funding regime for research in HEIs.

Conference notes with concern how the current REF distorts the research process. The Campaign for the Public University, Boycott the Next REF, and Council for the Defence of British Universities, amongst others, have used the current funding regime for research as a way of critiquing the programme of privatisation of HE.

Conference believes that:

1. students should be taught in an environment where research and scholarship is happening
2. parity of esteem should be given to all types of research regardless of form or how funded
3. research needs more funding.

Conference therefore asks HEC to:

1. encourage all HE branches to work with the CDBU, CPU and Students' Unions to organise regional meetings in autumn and spring to debate and refine a series of principles to govern the funding and scope of HE research
2. support a UCU event, with other campaign groups, showcasing the union's policy on research, encouraging debate about alternatives to the current regime within the union and the sector, seeking a fundamental review of the REF and publicising UCU's commitment to a campaign for a democratic alternative to the REF
3. develop principles on which to base a new system of research funding, and tests against which we can judge future government proposals, including equality impacts
4. continue campaigning for an alternative research funding model in line with existing policy.

CARRIED AS AMENDED

HE18A.1 Anti-Casualisation Committee

Add new point 3, renumber accordingly:

1. that such distortion is likely to increase the insecurity of researcher employment, especially of those on fixed term or other insecure contracts

Point ii, add at end: 'along with secure employment for researchers'

Point iii, add at end: 'and impacts on security of researcher employment'

CARRIED

SUBSTANTIVE MOTION

Conference welcomes UCU's policy paper on the future of UK research and development 'Seeing the Bigger Picture'.

Conference notes the:

1. completion of submissions to REF 2014, and HEIs' preparations for next REF;
2. risk that these preparations will distort the research agenda;
3. that such distortion is likely to increase the insecurity of researcher employment, especially of those on fixed term or other insecure contracts
4. existence of groups concerned with the nature and consequences of the current funding regime for research in HEIs.

Conference notes with concern how the current REF distorts the research process. The Campaign for the Public University, Boycott the Next REF, and Council for the Defence of British Universities, amongst others, have used the current funding regime for research as a way of critiquing the programme of privatisation of HE.

Conference believes that:

1. students should be taught in an environment where research and scholarship is happening
2. parity of esteem should be given to all types of research regardless of form or how funded
3. research needs more funding.

Conference therefore asks HEC to:

1. encourage all HE branches to work with the CDBU, CPU and Students' Unions to organise regional meetings in autumn and spring to debate and refine a series of principles to govern the funding and scope of HE research
2. support a UCU event, with other campaign groups, showcasing the union's policy on research, encouraging debate about alternatives to the current regime within the union and the sector, seeking a fundamental review of the REF and publicising UCU's commitment to a campaign for a democratic alternative to the REF along with secure employment for researchers
3. develop principles on which to base a new system of research funding, and tests against which we can judge future government proposals, including equality impacts and impacts on security of researcher employment
4. continue campaigning for an alternative research funding model in line with existing policy.

HE19 Research Excellence Framework - Higher Education Committee

Conference notes:

1. the report produced by the REF Equality and Diversity Advisory Panel about the REF 2014 process.
2. the work already undertaken to monitor the impact of the REF 2014.

Conference believes that:

1. staff should not be forced onto so-called 'Teaching only' contracts.
2. parity of esteem should be given to staff working within every National Academic Role Profile - teaching and scholarship, teaching and research, and research.

Conference asks HEC to:

1. monitor the impact of the REF 2014 as funding announcements are made, including equality impacts
2. defend jobs, terms and conditions, wherever they are under attack as a result of the REF 2014 process.

CARRIED

L2 Bargaining guidance on teaching focussed contracts - Yorkshire and Humberside HE Regional Committee

This sector conference:

1. is aware that HEC is considering bargaining guidance on teaching-focussed contracts.
2. notes that the issue of teaching-focussed contracts is significant and complex.
3. mandates HEC to circulate its draft bargaining guidance document to branches and regional HE committees for consultation prior to progressing it further.

CARRIED

HE20 REF impact on women - Women Members' Standing Committee

Conference recognises that the 2014 had detrimental effects on women working in HE in terms of:

1. non transparent selection processes and decisions
2. focus on senior professors' workloads being shifted to newer, younger and part time female staff to enhance their submissions
3. exclusion of younger, newer and part time female staff for REF 2014.

Conference calls on UCU to:

1. demand commitment from universities to provide transparent and clear details of all selection and decision procedures
2. monitor the impact of REF 2014 on the employment, contracts and security of role whether selected for inclusion or not.

CARRIED

HE21 Disabled members and the REF - Disabled Members' Standing Committee

Conference notes the completion of the REF and the achievements of our members across higher education. Within the REF process, particular concerns were raised by disabled workers regarding mitigating circumstance panels and enforced workload models. Many disabled workers were not given appropriate consideration for submission to the REF as their outputs were compared to non-disabled workers, resulting in some not being included within the REF at all.

Conference calls on the Higher Education Committee to:

1. analyse the equality analysis of the REF which is due in late 2015
2. identify good practice for disabled members' involvement in the REF
3. provide an analysis and guide on disability issues including best practice, how to negotiate mitigating circumstances and the employment rights for disabled workers which will support them in the next REF process
4. campaign for the development of positive and realistic workload models, with particular reference to appropriate adjustments for disabled workers.

CARRIED

HE22 Academic standards and their use in performance management - Queen's University Belfast

Conference notes the introduction of detailed academic standards and their links to the use of performance management procedures.

Events at Imperial and Bristol have focused attention on the use of grant income targets for individual staff. Such targets can fail to acknowledge:

1. differences between and within subject areas in terms of the need for and opportunities to obtain external finance, and
2. that the ability to obtain grant income is a function of institutional as well as individual factors. They also promote monocultures in areas of research endeavour, undermine academic freedom and encourage wastefulness in the use resources.

Conference calls on HEC:

1. to collect information on the use of academic standards linked to performance management
2. to initiate discussions with Universities UK on safeguarding academic freedom and the ability of researchers to challenge received wisdom
3. to consider the use of sanctions where research income is unreasonably prioritised.

CARRIED AS AMENDED

HE22A.1 Higher Education Committee

Under conference calls on HEC, b, add: 'and other sector bodies' after Universities UK.

CARRIED

SUBSTANTIVE MOTION

Conference notes the introduction of detailed academic standards and their links to the use of performance management procedures.

Events at Imperial and Bristol have focused attention on the use of grant income targets for individual staff. Such targets can fail to acknowledge:

1. differences between and within subject areas in terms of the need for and opportunities to obtain external finance, and
2. that the ability to obtain grant income is a function of institutional as well as individual factors. They also promote monocultures in areas of research endeavour, undermine academic freedom and encourage wastefulness in the use resources.

Conference calls on HEC:

1. to collect information on the use of academic standards linked to performance management
2. to initiate discussions with Universities UK and other sector bodies on safeguarding academic freedom and the ability of researchers to challenge received wisdom
3. to consider the use of sanctions where research income is unreasonably prioritised.

HE23 The damaging ultra-competitive culture in scientific research - University of Manchester

Conference believes that the ultra-competitive culture engendered by the use of short term projects to achieve most scientific research is highly damaging in a number of ways:

1. research staff have very limited job security and a severe lack of career progression opportunities
2. for women in particular, lack of progression and attrition from science and engineering careers are recognised problems, contributed to by this culture
3. researchers are under pressure to compromise research integrity and standards. Research funds are used sub-optimally. Researchers spend a disproportionate amount of time focussed on future prospects at the expense of funded research.

Conference instructs UCU to lobby the UK research councils and major research focussed charities to seek alternative models of science funding and to convene at least one dedicated meeting where researchers and representatives of UCU, the UK research councils and charities seriously explore possible alternatives.

CARRIED

Academic-related, professional staff, paragraph 8.1

HE24 The changing face of academic-related, professional staff - Academic-related, Professional Staff Committee

Conference notes the growth of new academic-related, professional roles in HE institutions, and the opportunities for recruitment to UCU membership that they could offer.

Conference acknowledges that staff in many of these roles may not see themselves as potential trade union members, and that recruitment to union membership may therefore pose specific challenges. In order to address these challenges, it is first necessary to understand the changing nature of ARPS roles.

Conference calls on UCU to:

1. investigate the changing face of ARP staff, in particular the growth of new roles
2. update the academic-related manifesto to reflect these new roles
3. target recruitment activity at these new ARP roles
4. to develop a bargaining position in relation to these new ARP roles
5. to communicate with branches to raise awareness of the changing face of ARP staff.

CARRIED

HE25 Taking charge of our own careers - Academic-related, Professional Staff Committee

This conference  notes the continuing deprofessionalisation and attacks on conditions of service of academic-related, professional staff (ARPS).

This conference  reasserts its belief that we are professionals and employers should provide fair and equal access to meaningful professional and career development opportunities to ARP staff.

This conference resolves:

1. to develop a model policy for professional and career development of ARPS
2. to develop bargaining materials and training to support ARPS in attaining a policy
3. to support branches in negotiating a professional and career development policy
4. that access to professional and career development opportunities is of paramount importance to ARP staff
5. to continue to develop an accessible CPD programme to support members' professional and career development.

CARRIED

HE26 Professional support for academic staff - University of Manchester

Conference notes the HESA statistics on the composition of staff in higher education which shows that academic-related and professional staff ratio, excluding administrators, is 50% of the number of academic staff.

We acknowledge that the implementation of Role Evaluation schemes Like HERA has degraded conditions for academic-related staff in:

1. continuous erosion of the academic link
2. absence of defined career development, planning, progression and promotion policies.

Competent human resources practitioners will want to make sure that all staff are treated equally and are offered similar opportunities to develop and have fulfilling careers.

Conference calls on HEC to:

1. investigate the implementation of HERA and its effect on academic-related staff
2. survey universities for their career development and promotion policies for academic-related staff
3. develop a bargaining position to include career development and promotion criteria in Role Evaluation schemes for academic-related staff.

CARRIED

New heading: restructuring and course closures

HE27 Women's Studies MA course at Ruskin College - West Midlands Regional HE Committee

HE sector conference expresses concern at the threat to close the Women's Studies MA course at Ruskin College, Oxford.

Ruskin College has long been a symbol of workers' education, offering access to high quality higher education to people who would traditionally be excluded from it.

The course is the only one in the country of its kind that is open to people without formal academic qualifications.

The reasons given for its closure are financial, however, figures seen by student reps demonstrate that it could be self-funding if there were two more students on it.

HE sector conference resolves to:

1. publicise the petition to save the course
2. send a message of solidarity to the students fighting the closure of the course
3. call on the college not to close the course as a matter of principle due to its unique nature.

CARRIED

HE28 Redundancy by restructuring - University of Hull

Conference notes:

1. the use of restructuring exercises by university management during the current climate of austerity.
2. that these invariably result in:
   1. the reduction in the number of staff employed in those areas, or
   2. the reduction in the grade (and therefore salary) of at least some of those staff, or
   3. both a. and b
3. that restructuring is therefore more about the bottom line in financial accounting rather than about an improvement of provision.
4. that compromise agreements are used to mask the true level of redundancies.

Conference calls upon the HEC to investigate:

1. the extent of restructure exercises occurring in UK Universities in 2014 and 2015
2. the number of posts and FTEs lost in relation to the declared numbers of redundancies
3. the extent of externally advertised roles in relation to the retention of employees through redeployment.

CARRIED AS AMENDED

HE28A.1 Open University

Add after point ii a new point iii as follows:

'iii The effect on workload of remaining staff'

and renumber the existing point iii as point iv

CARRIED

HE28A.2 Academic-related, Professional Staff Committee

Bullet i:

Insert after 'in UK Universities in 2014 and 2015': 'in relation to both academic and academic related, professional staff groups'.

CARRIED

SUBSTANTIVE MOTION

Conference notes:

1. the use of restructuring exercises by university management during the current climate of austerity.
2. that these invariably result in:
   1. the reduction in the number of staff employed in those areas, or
   2. the reduction in the grade (and therefore salary) of at least some of those staff, or
   3. both a. and b
3. that restructuring is therefore more about the bottom line in financial accounting rather than about an improvement of provision.
4. that compromise agreements are used to mask the true level of redundancies.

Conference calls upon the HEC to investigate:

1. the extent of restructure exercises occurring in UK Universities in 2014 and 2015 in relation to both academic and academic related, professional staff groups
2. the number of posts and FTEs lost in relation to the declared numbers of redundancies
3. the effect on workload of remaining staff
4. the extent of externally advertised roles in relation to the retention of employees through redeployment.

New heading: Settlement agreements

HE29 Composite: Settlement agreements (compromise agreements) - University of Hull, University of Northampton

Conference notes

1. recent high-profile cases of gagging clauses being used in the NHS to prevent staff speaking out
2. universities use settlement agreements to define the terms which terminate an employee's contract of employment
3. the parties are obligated to respect the confidentiality of the agreements
4. settlement agreements have implications for UCU's ability to represent members
5. this seems to be a growing trend within the higher education sector, thus masking issues such as bullying and intimidation
6. by their very nature, it is impossible to determine the extent to which such agreements are used.

Conference therefore calls on the HEC to

1. undertake an investigation, filing F.O.I. requests as necessary, to ascertain the number of settlement agreements, the amount of money spent on them and the circumstances leading up to them (for example, grievances, disciplinary cases, redundancies)
2. report back to branches with a summary of the findings and offer guidance on how to support members.

CARRIED AS AMENDED

HE29A.1 Black Members' Standing Committee

Add point c. 'to investigate the equality implications of settlement agreements and the potential cover up of institutional racism and other institutional discrimination through the misuse of gagging clauses.'

CARRIED

Drafting amendment from the floor: final sentence insert 'full' before 'USS pension' at the end

SUBSTANTIVE MOTION

Conference notes

1. recent high-profile cases of gagging clauses being used in the NHS to prevent staff speaking out
2. universities use settlement agreements to define the terms which terminate an employee's contract of employment
3. the parties are obligated to respect the confidentiality of the agreements
4. settlement agreements have implications for UCU's ability to represent members
5. this seems to be a growing trend within the higher education sector, thus masking issues such as bullying and intimidation
6. by their very nature, it is impossible to determine the extent to which such agreements are used.

Conference therefore calls on the HEC to:

1. undertake an investigation, filing F.O.I. requests as necessary, to ascertain the number of settlement agreements, the amount of money spent on them and the circumstances leading up to them (for example, grievances, disciplinary cases, redundancies)
2. report back to branches with a summary of the findings and offer guidance on how to support members
3. to investigate the equality implications of settlement agreements and the potential cover up of institutional racism and other institutional discrimination through the misuse of gagging clauses.

New heading: Governance and academic freedom

HE30 (EP) Composite: Campaigning on increasing democracy in the HE sector - Glasgow Caledonian University, UCU Scotland

Conference notes with interest the moves toward democratising the higher education sector in Scotland and congratulates the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on the commitment to enact legislation on HE Governance in Scotland. This despite vociferous opposition from Scottish Chairs of Court and Universities Scotland, organisations which at the time of the von Prondzynski review of Scottish higher education governance in 2011 argued against any move towards transparency or democracy, and which responded to the publication of the report by introducing a code of governance which sought to further enshrine the status quo.

Conference welcomes the decision by the current Scottish government to consult on future legislation for further democratisation, including election of Court chairs, mandatory trade union representation on governing bodies, and an obligatory quota of 40 percent female representation on all governing bodies.

Conference instructs the UK HEC to make more use of such examples of good practice and learn from the success of colleagues in Scotland to campaign for democratic, transparent and accountable university governance, including trade union nominees, elected chairs, gender balance and robust protection of academic freedom.

Conference believes that increased democracy in the higher education sector is a key factor for empowering the university community to help set the educational agenda locally, nationally, and at a UK level.

Further, conference restates its commitment to protect public universities that are resourced by and accountable to the wider community.

CARRIED

HE31 Composite: Conference cancellation and academic freedom - Leeds Beckett University, University of Winchester, London South Bank University

Conference notes:

1. the University of Southampton's cancellation of the International Law and the State of Israel conference following political pressure;
2. the official 'health and safety' reason was belied by the assurances of peaceful protest from pro-Zionist groups, and police assurances on security;
3. this academic conference had a normal CfP, invitations to Israelis, and scholars with divergent views;
4. 6,000 signatories in 24 hours signed a petition condemning the University decision.

Conference believes the management decision was related to nature of the conference, not health or safety concerns; constitutes a surrender to political pressure; and is an unprecedented assault on academic freedom.

Conference instructs the HEC, in the absence of an appropriate apology, and in response to any such request from the University of Southampton UCU, to commence 'greylisting' of the University of Southampton unless satisfactory assurances on academic freedom are forthcoming from University of Southampton management, including in appointments, course design and staff research.

REMITTED

New heading: Workload, stress and professionalism

HE32 Composite: Workloads - University of Glasgow, Queen Mary University of London

Increased demands on staff's time such as the REF, student expectation and NSS and cost cutting have resulted in very high workloads for many staff working within universities. University management has not engaged seriously with this issue or made genuine attempts to address it. Conference also notes the UCU workload and stress survey of 2014, the proportion of members working over 50 hours a week (41%), and the effect on UCU members' health and safety.

Conference believes that excess working hours are increasingly a cultural norm within the sector as staff struggle to meet the multiple demands of customer-oriented teaching, pastoral care for an increasingly stressed student body, quality measurement, research and funding targets, elaborate administrative structures and electronic presenteeism.

Conference asks HEC to call on members to:

1. record their actual hours worked and draw management attention to excessive hours and the effects of these on their work-life balance, using the UCU workload calculator
2. record requests for annual leave and any impediments to taking take their full leave entitlement
3. participate in Work your Proper Hours Day 2015 (27 Feb 2015)

Conference further calls on

1. HEC to campaign for increased awareness of the Working Time Directive among members and university management, in particular the weekly maximum of 48 hours and the requirement for a continuous weekly break of 24 hours minimum
2. HEC to produce model working hours policies within the next 12 months and to support branches in getting these policies instituted
3. university managements to engage constructively with branches to tackle the issue of excessive workloads based on the UCU models and advice.

CARRIED AS AMENDED

CBC advice: if amendment HE32A.1 passes, the second clause of HE32A.2 ('In point b...') falls.

HE32A.1 Higher Education Committee

Under 'Conference further calls', point b, delete 'produce model working hours policies within the next 12 months and to support branches in getting these policies instituted', replace with 're-issue existing HEC approved workload negotiating guidance to branches'.

CARRIED

HE32A.2 Anti-Casualisation Committee

After first two paragraphs, insert:

Conference also notes that some local branch surveys of zero hours and other casualised staff have shown working hours way in excess of those paid for, and that some managers see casualised staff as a group who cannot say 'no' to unpaid work.

CARRIED

In point b, after 'working hours policies', insert 'for all full-time and part-time UCU eligible staff'

FALLS

Add new point d:

The HEC to encourage and coordinate branches in surveying casualised sections of their workforce about their working hours, and report the results to UCU.

CARRIED

SUBSTANTIVE MOTION

Increased demands on staff's time such as the REF, student expectation and NSS and cost cutting have resulted in very high workloads for many staff working within universities. University management has not engaged seriously with this issue or made genuine attempts to address it. Conference also notes the UCU workload and stress survey of 2014, the proportion of members working over 50 hours a week (41%), and the effect on UCU members' health and safety.

Conference believes that excess working hours are increasingly a cultural norm within the sector as staff struggle to meet the multiple demands of customer-oriented teaching, pastoral care for an increasingly stressed student body, quality measurement, research and funding targets, elaborate administrative structures and electronic presenteeism.

Conference also notes that some local branch surveys of zero hours and other casualised staff have shown working hours way in excess of those paid for, and that some managers see casualised staff as a group who cannot say 'no' to unpaid work.

Conference asks HEC to call on members to:

1. record their actual hours worked and draw management attention to excessive hours and the effects of these on their work-life balance, using the UCU workload calculator
2. record requests for annual leave and any impediments to taking take their full leave entitlement
3. participate in Work your Proper Hours Day 2015 (27 Feb 2015)

Conference further calls on

1. HEC to campaign for increased awareness of the Working Time Directive among members and university management, in particular the weekly maximum of 48 hours and the requirement for a continuous weekly break of 24 hours minimum
2. HEC to re-issue existing HEC approved workload negotiating guidance to branches
3. university managements to engage constructively with branches to tackle the issue of excessive workloads based on the UCU models and advice
4. the HEC to encourage and coordinate branches in surveying casualised sections of their workforce about their working hours, and report the results to UCU.

HE33 Tackling workplace stress - London Metropolitan University

Conference notes that the 2014 UCU stress survey shows that levels of stress and workload have escalated to unprecedented levels.

The figures imply that many institutions may be violating their legal duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Unfortunately, the Health and Safety Executive has itself been subject to cuts, thus impairing its ability to conduct preventive inspections.

The employers' organisation (UCEA) has developed a stress initiative, but this largely focuses on secondary issues (healthy eating, fitness) rather than prevention.

This conference recognises that workplace stress not only damages our members but damages the student experience.

This conference instructs the HEC to:

1. campaign for the reinvigoration of the Health and Safety Executive;
2. call upon UCEA to make publicly available the results of its annual sickness absence surveys;
3. call upon UCEA to develop and implement a prevention-based plan of action to reduce workplace stress.

CARRIED AS AMENDED

HE33A.1 LGBT Members' Standing Committee

Add new point 4:

Analyse available data to determine the impact of workplace stress on staff who identify as LGBT and/or other protected characteristics.

CARRIED

SUBSTANTIVE MOTION

Conference notes that the 2014 UCU stress survey shows that levels of stress and workload have escalated to unprecedented levels.

The figures imply that many institutions may be violating their legal duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Unfortunately, the Health and Safety Executive has itself been subject to cuts, thus impairing its ability to conduct preventive inspections.

The employers' organisation (UCEA) has developed a stress initiative, but this largely focuses on secondary issues (healthy eating, fitness) rather than prevention.

This conference recognises that workplace stress not only damages our members but damages the student experience.

This conference instructs the HEC to:

1. campaign for the reinvigoration of the Health and Safety Executive
2. call upon UCEA to make publicly available the results of its annual sickness absence surveys
3. call upon UCEA to develop and implement a prevention-based plan of action to reduce workplace stress

4. analyse available data to determine the impact of workplace stress on staff who identify as LGBT and/or other protected characteristics.

HE34 Abuse of student feedback questionnaires - University of Glasgow

HESC condemns:

1. the abuse by management of student feedback questionnaires to create a climate of fear and inappropriately discipline staff
2. the particular risks facing casually employed staff, women and minority group members.

HESC recognises the value of appropriately used feedback to improve teaching.

HESC agrees to instruct HEC to:

1. set up a working group involving members of the Anti-Casualisation and Equality Standing Committees and National Executive/HE Committee to work together with NUS to draw up and implement policy on the appropriate use of student feedback to improve teaching rather than harass members
2. survey branches and provide support to fight abuses of student feedback questionnaires
3. name and shame institutions which are particularly flagrant abusers of student feedbackcampaign for the withdrawal of the National Student Survey and the replacement of league tables by a commitment to quality education supported by truly adequate funding.

CARRIED

HE35 Defend professionalism - fight workload abuse - Manchester Metropolitan University

Conference notes

1. an unsustainable year-on-year increase in workloads
2. that in part this is due to the increased allocation of administrative and non-academic tasks to academics
3. that while academics have wide-ranging responsibilities, this should not be abused by endless 'dumping' of workload on UCU members
4. that this is an attack on admin staff jobs.

Conference resolves to:

1. survey members to gather data on the extent of additional tasks inappropriately assigned to academics
2. work with other campus unions to ensure proper staffing and appropriate allocation of all tasks and jobs
3. campaign locally and nationally against the burden of tasks which do not require an academic's input
4. work with students to highlight the attack on professionalism
5. prioritise a national campaign to reduce long work hours in HE and safeguard professionalism by rejecting tasks which do not require an academic's skills and/or knowledge.

    REMITTED

HE36 Defend professionalism; resist attacks on academic judgement - University of Central Lancashire

Conference notes the tendency for HE institutions to adopt increasingly managerialist approaches to decision-making at the expense of the proper exercise of academic judgement and professional expertise in ever wider areas of academic life. An example of this is the marginalisation of academic decision-making in university admissions procedures by means of, amongst other measures, the imposition of 'flat-rate' minimum UCAS entry tariffs, the effective exclusion of subject-based admissions tutors for the admissions process, and the removal of academic discretion to make entry offers to applicants on the basis of interview, thus reducing Admissions to an entirely administrative affair.

Such policies risk causing financial and reputational damage to institutions, with potential consequences for members' jobs.

Conference calls on the HEC to develop a campaign strategy to defend professional integrity, assisting branches to defend the exercise of academic judgement in admissions and to expose and campaign against de-professionalisation wherever it is found.

    REMITTED

HE37 Negative impact of electronic learning - Southern Regional HE Committee

While acknowledging the undoubted value of technological innovation in advancing student learning, Conference believes that UCU must guard against detrimental impact on staff workload and job security by developments in electronic learning, if these are abused by employers.

Conference therefore instructs the HEC to:

1. undertake a survey of the extent of use of online learning by institutions
2. work together with the NUS to defend face-to-face learning as the key component of university tuition
3. campaign against the use of online learning as a cost-cutting exercise and promote its use as enhancement and support for traditional teaching rather than as a substitute.

    REMITTED

HE37A.1 University of Bath

Add at end of first paragraph (after 'abused by employers'):

The increasing use of aggressive intellectual property control and instruments of surveillance can be implemented in ways that effectively yield 'redacted', neutralised and standardised learning materials and experiences.

Add point 4 after point 3:

1. reject the default ('opt-out') recording of all lectures by institutions.

HE37A.2 Higher Education Committee

Under 'Conference therefore instructs the HEC', point 3, delete 'as a cost-cutting exercise and promote its use as enhancement and support for traditional teaching rather than a substitute' and replace with 'that results in cost cutting exercises' and add additional point 'd. Consult with UCU OU branch with a view to developing guidance.'

New heading: teacher education

HE38 Teacher education and higher education - University of Brighton Falmer

Conference notes:

1. the removal of QTS as a requirement for teaching in some state funded schools
2. that alternative QTS routes have resulted in teacher education places in HEIs being cut by 23% since 2012-13
3. that while academic staff numbers across HE have risen, education departments have seen a 7% decline in teaching staff since 2004/5 and increased casualisation.
4. one of these alternative routes, the Troops to Teachers programme prioritises entry to teaching by ex-service personnel from the armed forces as they have gained particular skills and experiences which are invaluable to schools.

Conference resolves to:

1. campaign with other education trade unions to defend the role of HE in teacher education and professionalism
2. campaign for rigorous and high quality conversion HE programmes to teaching for a broad range of workers, which could include, but not be exclusively for, those leaving the armed forces.

    REMITTED

New heading: industrial strategy and membership consultation

HE39 UCU response to pay docking - Yorkshire and Humberside Regional HE Committee

HE sector conference notes that:

1. as with the 2013/14 pay dispute, managements in the 2014/15 USS dispute (including York and Bradford) announced 100% punitive pay docking for ASOS
2. UCU strategy - adopted at Congress 2014 - links ASOS with escalating national strike action rather than counterpoising one to the other
3. the assessment boycott was called off by HEC each time it was approaching a period when it would have had the greatest impact
4. the failure to implement UCU policy by challenge punitive pay-docking with national strike action has undermined many members' belief in ASOS.

HE sector conference mandates HEC to:

1. implement national policy in response to punitive pay docking
2. develop timetables for industrial action which, combined with a mapping of institutions' timetables, ensures our industrial action is undertaken at times guaranteeing the greatest impact.

    REMITTED

HE40 Industrial strategy - University of Brighton Grand Parade

Conference notes the:

1. failure of HEC to implement the strategy determined democratically by conference, and balloted on, in recent pay and pensions disputes
2. substantial ballot majorities for that strategy in recent disputes
3. failure of recent campaigns to achieve their goals
4. consequent erosion of confidence in the union to defend national conditions.

Conference believes that the:

1. successful defence of pay and pensions is achievable only through escalating industrial action
2. UCU's policy on industrial strategy, combining ASOS with strike action, has not been seriously applied.

Conference resolves that:

1. future campaigns will fully implement the strategy, combining ASOS with strike action, in line with conference policy
2. threats of punitive deductions to deter ASOS will be met with escalating strike action across the sector, and branches will not be left to resist alone
3. no proposal to end national disputes short of their goals will be put to members without a special conference.

    REMITTED

HE41 Use of online ballots - University of Bath

Conference recalls the resolution HE2 of HESC May 2014, that 'ballots and recommendations in national campaigns will be decided by a special HESC, where HEC can recommend changes to policy or tactics', and that one of the reasons for bringing the resolution was the strength of feeling that HEC had put the UCEA pay offer to an online consultative ballot of members with less than 24 hours' notice and with no recommendation.

Conference also notes the decision of HEC on 14th January 2015 to put the employers' revised proposals for changes to USS to an online consultative ballot of members, again with less than 24 hours notice and with no recommendation.

Conference directs HEC to refer all future decisions to commission consultative ballots to an HESC.

    REMITTED

HE42 Using electronic balloting - North West Regional HE Committee

Conference notes the deplorable use of electronic balloting with immediate effect, when determining the direction of UCU on major decisions in higher education. Such balloting has contributed to the loss of deferred income for many members by overturning a previous informed democratic decision to engage in a trade dispute over pensions.

Conference notes that such balloting strategies undermine the democratic process of allowing full, meaningful and informed debate; yet allows the employer to spread their pernicious propaganda as displayed in their version of the pensions calculator disseminated to our members; based on a (fairy-tale) average 3.3% pay rise per year.

Conference insists that there is a minimum of 15 working days between the HEC disseminating details of proposals necessitating a consultative ballot and the date of the ballot opening.

    REMITTED

New heading: the future of HE and student support

HE43 (EP) Facing outwards as an educational trade union - Glasgow Caledonian University

Conference welcomes initiatives such as the release of the pre-election manifesto for the UK general election, and similar initiatives in Scotland and elsewhere targeting elections in the UK's different nations. Conference believes that the union's continuing commitment to engage publicly in the battle of ideas for the future of higher education will help win allies and construct alliances which are necessary for successful outcomes in our campaigns for better wages, conditions and pensions.

Conference asks the Higher Education Committee to continue to be pro-active in terms of our planned activity to help set the educational agenda and to monitor our success in this between now and next conference.

    REMITTED

HE44 (EP) Support for part-time students - Birkbeck University of London

While re-affirming UCU's opposition to tuition fees for post-compulsory education, Conference nevertheless welcomes the announcement from the government that from 2016-17, student loans will be available for postgraduate students on similar terms to those available for undergraduate students. Such loans will be available to part-time as well as full-time students. However, the proposal is restricted to those under the age of 30. On the basis of current student numbers in the sector, this would exclude 70% of part-time postgraduates. This measure would discriminate on grounds of sex as well as age, as women comprise a higher proportion of postgraduate students over 30.

Conference calls on the HEC to:

1. build a campaign to broaden the provision of postgraduate student loans to all students, regardless of age
2. support improved provisions for funding and other support to part-time students.

    REMITTED

HE44A.1 Birkbeck University of London

First paragraph, in the last sentence, beginning: 'This measure...' replace 'sex' with 'race and ethnicity' and in the second clause beginning with 'as women comprise...' replace: 'women' with 'BME students'.