UCU: Strengthening UCU's work amongst research-only employees

Motion

Motion text: Conference believes:
1. Precarity disrupts members on research- only contracts from being more active and experienced members, compounded by moving employer or locality.
2. That casualisation on research- only contracts is high, with 67% being fixed-term contracts, whilst many ‘open-ended contracts’ are ‘subject-to- funding’.
Conference resolves that UCU produce:
a. a strategy for influencing research funders (including government) to focus on building employers and structures that create permanency
b. guidance on how members in Learned Societies might influence them to oppose casualisation
c. a pilot initiative for UCU to support members’ seeking to integrate solidarity economy activities into research work, such as linking to UCU-aligned organisations requiring research, or Community Wealth Building as impact
d. bitesize political education, covering UCU activities, structures and ‘everyday’ actions
e. branch guidance on securing paid time (‘facilities time’) for all contract types, or as additional pay for members who cannot receive paid time off.