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.
Statement by UCU SFC Members
Public statement by six members of Strategy & Finance Committee (Maire Daley, Maeve Landman, Steve Reid, Sasha Callaghan, Neil Williamson, Caroline Gray)

The decision made on Friday 28th September by the Strategy and Finance Committee (SFC) was based on a discussion of the implications of the legal advice given by two QCs asked for separately by UCU and the by Trustees. That advice was clear and unequivocal: that a boycott of Israeli academic institutions and a call for such a boycott would be unlawful and therefore expenditure of money to ”test support” for a boycott would also be unlawful. As has now become public knowledge through a letter to the Guardian, UCU’s QC is recognised as a leading expert on equality and human rights legislation. It would have been highly irresponsible for us to ignore such authoritative and unusually robust advice and thereby place union funds in jeopardy. We do not doubt that well-funded groups are ready to engage in legal action against the Union, but even before that stage was reached, the Trustees made it clear that they would feel obliged to fulfil their legal duty to ensure that union funds were only spent on lawful purposes.

This led to a consideration of whether the regional tour planned for early October should proceed. This was a difficult decision. Arguably, the tour could go ahead, with all the invitees told that the planned basis of the Tour would have to change because of the legal advice. In the end, we decided that it was better to rearrange a tour (before next Congress), the aim of which would be to focus attention on giving members first-hand information about what is actually happening in Palestine, and on practical ways (such as twinning) by which members can provide solidarity with Palestinian educators. We felt that this was the best way to preserve the integrity and intent of Motion 30 as passed by Congress. The International Working Group of SFC will be involved in these arrangements. We believe it is unfortunate that the Union’s public statements and the letters to the invited speakers from Israel and Palestine appear not to have made clear that the tour was to be rearranged, and this failure has led to much upset on their part and much confusion amongst members. It is not the case that union members cannot discuss the situation in Palestine. The legal advice was clear that union members can discuss whatever they wish. It is specifically the calling (by UCU) of a boycott of Israeli academic institutions (and therefore also the testing of support for such a boycott) that is believed to be unlawful.

At our suggestion, the Committee unanimously agreed that the legal advice be taken to the TUC and other TUs in order to discuss the momentous wider implications for the trade union movement. We need to defend the right of independent trade unions to debate and make decisions on political and international issues free of the threat of legal action.

12/10/07 - UCU Left - Statement on UCU and Palestine Solidarity - (here)

13/06/07 - UCU Left - Statement on the ‘Academic Boycott’ - (here)

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