UCU Left - Policy Conference

UCU Left - Policy Conference
Saturday 25 November 2006, Mechanics Institute, Manchester

Around 100 UCU members attended this policy conference and after debating and voting on a constitution agreed to launch UCU Left as a membership-based organisation.

In the first plenary session brief reports on the current situation in both FE and HE were heard and these were followed by a debate and vote on a UCU Left constitution, and membership of a UCU Left Steering Group. There then followed two breakout sessions in which FE and HE issues were discussed in more detail.

Following a short lunch break an election hustings for UCU General Secretary was held with two of the three GS candidates participating - Peter Jones and Roger Kline. The third candidate, Sally Hunt decided not to attend the hustings. Following impassioned speaches from both candidates, a question and answer session, and a full and frank debate as to whom, if any, UCU Left should recommend members support, a vote was taken and conference decided overwelmingly (79 votes to 8) to recommend Roger Kline for UCU General Secretary.

Roger told the conference, "Education is facing ever greater uncertainty. We don't yet have 50% membership in the colleges and universities - we need to be fighting for higher density". He then went on to rubbish the claim that UCU should drop 'politics', "You can't have a union that is members first, politics second - it's a non sequitur. We have to reposition the union as custodians of education. We want a union that campaigns for education as well as over what lecturers get paid."

The final session of the day heard reports from the earlier FE and HE breakout sessions and discussed and voted on which candidates to support in the elections for UCU NEC and about how best to mobilise their vote.

Opening Plenary


			The UCU Left is a national organisation of University and College Union activists. It is committed to ensuring that the new union has a democratic structure through which members can determine policy, and elected officers and professional officials can be held accountable. It seeks to defend educational equality, and to oppose the consequences of neo-liberal marketisation. It is opposed to all forms of racism, sexism, oppression and imperialism.

Chaired by Lesley Catchpowle (University of Greenwich), the opening plenary first heard reports by Liz Lawrence and Howard Miles.

Liz Lawrence (NEC & Regional Secretary
for Yorkshire and Humberside)

Liz explained that this Conference was important not only for the future of UCU Left, but for the future of UCU. She stated that in the HE sector activists have faced two debacles in recent years; the national pay framework and the recent pay dispute. However, she stated that yesterday (24th November) there had been a successful and well-attended UCU HE consultative conference. All resolutions critical of the leadership’s handling of the recent pay dispute were carried and there was also growing support in the pre-92 sector for national conditions of service and contractual protection on workloads. Liz then went on to say that one of the important lessons of the HE consultative conference was to show the growing opportunity to bring together educational and industrial struggles.

Liz stated that UCU Left is becoming a pole of attraction, particularly given we are in positions of union leadership in many branches and regions. This gives us opportunities and responsibilities. We need to put forward a line for activists on how to mobilise the membership of the union. Liz then outlined what we should be arguing with union activists to do in the HE sector where we have major tasks of union building ahead of us:

A union recruitment drive

Building strong branches and regions

Combating workload intensification and redundancies

Raising international solidarity issues

Advancing the equality agenda

Campaigning to repeal all anti-union laws

Building a democratic, campaigning union

Howard Miles (Bradford College)

Howard argued that the UCU Left conference marked a key turning point. We needed to campaign for political trade unionism, building on the best traditions established by the left in NATFHE and to defend principles of free comprehensive Further Education.

Howard made the point that we cannot ignore political questions given that we need to be aware of the political context in which we are fighting for decent educational resources and working conditions. He stated that there is a growing inequality in Britain and that this has a direct impact on education and this itself is related to the fact that we face growing marketising throughout the educational sector.

Howard concluded his talk by saying the forthcoming few months, and in particular the General Secretary and NEC elections, would shape the union for the next period and that if we get it right, if we mobilise, then we can make a real difference to UCU, and to the trade union movement as a whole.

Rally outside UCEA HQ the day that AUT & NATFHE formed the UCU – June 1st 2006

Red circle protest outside Leeds University library

UCU National Banner at the “Time to Go” demo outside the Labour Party Conference, Manchester, September 23rd