At their annual conference last week, the University and College lecturers’ union, UCU, successfully passed several excellent motions which strengthen the union’s existing policy on fighting racism, ending the Prevent agenda and welcoming refugees.
As the Tories and the press ramp up the racist and Islamophobic narrative in the run up to next week’s EU referendum, it is important that Equality was the common thread that ran through every section of the debates at UCU’s conference and that a leading education union is arming its members with a strong campaigning mandate and funding resources to tackle these issues.
UCULeft organised two packed Fringe events at conference on Refugees are Welcome and Stand Up to Racism with Malia Bouattia the NUS President, Ifhat Shaheen Smith, Weyman Bennett from Stand Up to Racism and many more.
Resolves from key motions that were passed:
REFUGEES
- affiliate to Stand Up To Racism
- encourage delegations and support for the migrant camp in Calais
- affiliate to Stand Up to Racism, support and encourage members to attend the Stand Up to Racism conference in October, and campaign to keep racism out of the EU referendum
- to support the stand up to racism/people’s assembly/trade union (CWU and Unite on publicity so far), refugee solidarity convoy to Calais on June 18th.
- to offer aid (£500) that fires broke out in the ‘jungle’ refugee camp on the night of 26 Mayand support by collecting
- to sponsor the convoy of aid and solidarity on 18 June and urge branches to attend, support, collect and donate.
- intensify our campaign against the scapegoating of refugees and disabled people
- develop a briefing to assist branches in supporting disabled refugees, student and staff to know their rights, and to challenge inflammatory statements in the media
- ensure campaigns involve and include disabled people’s organisations.
- questions the moral and legal basis of the EU-Turkey “refugee swap”, agreed in March 2016
- call a national week of action in support of refugees and migrants to include collections at work, meetings and other forms of solidarity
- forge direct links with the Calais and Dunkirk refugee camps and encourage UCU branches to organise delivery of materials and money to the camps
- put pressure on government and campaign with other broad based organisations to provide urgent humanitarian assistance, (medical, water, shelter and education) to refugees seeking asylum and welcome refugees and ensure they are given all appropriate support within the community
- campaign for restoration of ESOL funding and access to free English lessons for all migrants and asylum seekers, and no deportations
- create resources for the educational promotion of respect, understanding and compassion for refugees and migrants.
ANTI-RACISM, -WAR AND -ISLAMOPHOBIA
- institutions should ensure that their facilities are spaces which are free from all forms of racism with particular attention paid in the current context to anti-Muslim racism.
- produce guidance for branches on combating anti-Muslim racism and seek to develop joint initiatives with sister unions and the NUS.
- Congress believes that American, Russian, French and British warplanes aren’t helping ordinary people in Syria; military escalation creates more resentment leading to more terrorism.
- pledge full support to Malia Bouattia and her right to act as the democratically elected representative of students.
- affiliate with and provide financial and practical support to the Justice for Sarah Reed campaign
- ensure that all the campaign materials produced by UCU to defend colleges highlight the racist impact of the shrinking of the FE sector
- demand the government’s equality impact assessment for its recommendations made from all area reviews.
PREVENT
Congress resolves to:
- campaign against the proposed Counter Extremism Bill, working with other TUs, NUS and civil society groups to bring an end to the Prevent legislation and which allows individuals to pledge to ‘Prevent Prevent’
- provide a dossier to all members on how the Prevent duty is being met by Colleges and Universities, including monitoring of its implementation and any actions taken against students or staff who refuse to participate in Prevent activity, and to include the work UCU has done on Prevent since May 2015
- produce further guidance on the employment implications of Prevent and advice on preventing the victimisation of staff and students who challenge the implementation of Prevent
- publicly request that each senior management team in post-16 educational institutions commit to the protection of education as a non-discriminatory space
- support members/branches who refuse to co-operate with Prevent leads, trainers or procedures where there’s clear evidence that a) equality rights and principles have been breached; b) students or staff have been racially profiled or targeted for reason of faith, culture or legitimate political expression
- publicise the ‘Preventing Prevent’ conference to branches
- campaign against Islamophobia, with a particular focus on education, and demand Islamophobia awareness training for all staff.
Resolves:
- that our union develops a well-grounded strategy in relation to the new surveillance society and supports any individual or group of members who oppose the onerous duties imposed by government legislation
- to work with students and others in opposing the Prevent agenda
In addition, although unfortunately the UCU summer school proposed for the Calais Refugee camp will not now be going ahead, the union will provide instead a presence on the camp throughout the summer holidays to advise volunteers on teaching in the camp schools.
Mandy Brown UCU NEC (pc)