UCU: Outsourcing and redundancies

Motion

Motion text: Congress notes
1. SOAS have placed 34 Foundation College teaching staff in a redundancy pool with compulsory redundancies imminent
2. affected staff teach language and study skills support for international students. The proposed cuts endanger key teaching and study skills services impacting all SOAS programs
3. insessional English language support classes cut with outsourced online provision – Studiosity – replacing teaching hours
4. cuts are unnecessary as Foundation College and SOAS have a healthy surplus.
Congress believes
a. face-to-face teaching of language and study skills provide an essential service to university students; particularly foundation and international students
b. a switch from face-to-face teaching to outsourced online provision should never result in redundancies
c. consultation processes should fully involve staff and students.
Congress resolves
i. to support SOAS UCU in its redundancy dispute and publicise staff/student campaign initiatives against redundancies
ii. to monitor future moves replacing face-to-face teaching with outsourced online provision and support resulting disputes