UCU: Precarious contracts in FE and the Organising Agenda

Motion

Motion text: Conference notes:
1. At least 60% of colleges use zero-hours contracts to deliver education. Many staff in further, adult and prison education hold down multiple jobs and visit foodbanks (UCU 2019). Since this research was carried out, the committee has anecdotal evidence this situation has become worse. Eg, Abingdon and Witney College now offers staff access to the students’ foodbank.
2. In the ACC’s recent ‘teach-out’, members recounted deterioration and increasing fragmentation of their work situation, including using education students as unpaid teachers. This event helped to increase FE representation on ACC.
Conference resolves to:
a. provide organisational support to recruiting members and developing branches within FE, using the Build The Union toolkit;
b. develop and publish a plan to encourage more participation of FE members in UCU structures, from branches up to national committees, in order to more effectively fight casualisation;
c. provide tailor-made training for activists at branch/region level.