Congress motions

Motion

Motion title

Long term Covid safety and mitigations

Session

2022-2023

Meeting link

Annual Congress

Meeting date

27 May 2023

Status

Remitted

Motion

17

Motion text

Congress notes:
1. Ongoing and long-term health and social impacts of Covid19 and Long Covid
2. Our responsibilities to protect and promote healthier accessible working, studying, and union environments
3. Excellent work of UCU Health and Safety staff and reps, Hazards Campaign , Independent SAGE
4. SARS-CoV-2, causing COVID-19, remains a significant threat to public health
5. Long Covid pathophysiology is not understood; reliable effective treatments remain elusive
6. Lack of COVID-19 mitigations, including further boosters not being widely available.
Congress believes
1. That tertiary education providers are putting staff and students at unacceptable risk from Covid-19 and Long Covid, with particular ramifications for those identifying with one or more of UCU’s recognized equality groups
2. That the fact that the government has removed Covid protections does not absolve providers of health and safety responsibilities toward staff and students
3. That the current situation is discriminatory and ableist
4. Mitigations must include ventilation and mechanical air filtration, which does not need to be prohibitively expensive and significantly improves indoor air quality
Congress resolves UCU must:
a. actively campaign as a Covid Safety Pledge signatory, and for recognition of Covid19 as an occupational disease
b. lead by example: UCU events and spaces must be made as safe as possible, with mitigations in place to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2, not limited to government guidance
c. call on employers and commit as a trade union to ensure structural mitigations are in place in workplaces and organising spaces, including:
• minimum requirements for clean air, including ventilation, mechanical filtration, CO2 monitoring as a proxy measurement of air quality according to space usage
• normalisation of hybrid events to ensure accessibility
• ensuring UCU leads the way as an employer by employing best practice in its own workplaces and in events that it organises.
d. undertake specific research into impact of Long Covid on our members and students
e. support ongoing development of bargaining guidance and training for members on Covid19 / Long Covid
f. to enshrine the recommendations of the Hazards Campaign and Doctors In Unite authored guide, in our practice (https://doctorsinunite.com/health-safety)
g. To campaign to make vaccination available to all age groups for which the vaccine is authorised by the MHRA.
h. collaborate with AoC, UCEA and UUK to as far as possible to pressure the UK government to improve Covid mitigations
i. demand full sick pay for workers on all contract types suffering ill health through Covid, without disadvantage or discrimination

Proposing body

Composite (University of Leeds, National executive committee)

Amended

No

Allocated to

Strategy and finance committee (SFC)

Notes