Trustee Board have requested an Emergency meeting of Senate to clarify and revote on the motion “to support PGRs for staff status” with a replacement motion for a Senate vote:
SUSU will work with UCU to improve the working terms and conditions of those PGR students who are also employed by the University. In their role as the recognised representative channel between PGR students and the University, and taking advantage of their existing relationship with both the Doctoral College and University Senior Management, SUSU will consider issues and suggestions identified by the SUSU PGR reps and UCU and lobby the University for improvements to working terms and conditions. SUSU will report on progress made to Senate.
Background
- On May 20th, Union Senate voted on the following wording - “to support PGRs for staff status”. (5 For, 1 Against, 2 Abstain, 4 Vote Not Recorded)
- The wording of the original petition was “support the UCU national campaign to have PGRs recognised as workers”, and the UCU statement to their members after the Senate meeting announced that, “Last week at a meeting of the SUSU Senate, the two main principles of a petition UCU PGR members launched back in March were voted on and adopted. As a result, it is now SUSU policy to support 6 month funded extensions for PGRs and SUSU has adopted a position of supporting the UCU “PGRs as Staff” campaign)”
- SUSU’s charitable objects state that it exists to [be]…the recognized representative channel between members and the University and any external bodies…
As Union President and Chair of the SUSU Trustee Board, I believe that there is currently insufficient certainty about the meaning of ‘support PGRs for staff status’. UCU have not provided details of what they mean by ‘PGRs as staff’ (and there is no publicly available detail of their campaign) so Senate have effectively voted without sufficient information being provided to ensure a fully informed vote.
Senate cannot approve any course of action that is not in line with SUSU’s Articles of Association and so could not endorse a campaign that intended to remove student status from PGRs or to enact any change that meant SUSU was no longer the recognised representative channel between PGR students and the University – to do otherwise would be acting ultra vires as Senate cannot act other than in accordance with the SUSU Articles of Association.
PGRs are students. Approximately half of PGR students are registered with UniWorkforce and 35% of PGR students were paid by the University in the last twelve months. 100% of them, however, are enrolled on a programme of study at the University and so are students.
PGR students are currently automatically members of SUSU and can also choose to join UCU. The University recognises SUSU as the representative body for PGR students (in line with the SUSU articles) while UCU is one of the three officially recognised campus trade unions and so can both negotiate with the University on behalf of its members in relation to working terms and conditions and represent individual members of UCU in the context of work-related grievances and disciplinaries. All other areas of the PGR experience, including individual representation for student appeals and complaints and collective negotiations relating to the overall student experience at Southampton are covered by SUSU and apply to all students at the University at every level of study.
Proposal
The motion voted on by Senate was too broad and lacking any clear actions for SUSU to take. As it is neither possible nor in the students’ interests to remove their student status (they are enrolled as students and their consequent membership of SUSU provides representation and protection), it must be assumed that UCU intend their campaign purely to strengthen the employment conditions and rights of the PGR students who are also employed by the University. As such, the following replacement motion is proposed for a Senate vote:
SUSU will work with UCU to improve the working terms and conditions of those PGR students who are also employed by the University. In their role as the recognised representative channel between PGR students and the University, and taking advantage of their existing relationship with both the Doctoral College and University Senior Management, SUSU will consider issues and suggestions identified by the SUSU PGR reps and UCU and lobby the University for improvements to working terms and conditions. SUSU will report on progress made to Senate.
Fiona read out a pre submitted response from Harry:
I note the compassionate points made at the last Senate meeting, and in the recent email train which called for this meeting. Even so, I note Olivia's comments regarding the Student Union's Articles of Association, as well as my own interpretation of the Education Act 1994 s.20, which only allows for SUs to operate on behalf of students ("promoting the general interests of its members as students [my emphasis]"); trying to reclassify a section of students as staff is therefore incompatible with these. This is why I abstained from voting on the previous motion.
The proposal for a new motion before Senate is the best compromise available to SUSU. I am confident that they will continue to lobby the University and external organisations regarding PGR funding, and better working conditions for those employed by the University. I am very sympathetic to the struggles that PGR students have faced, so perhaps SUSU should establish some sort of working group/committee to touch base more frequently (biweekly/monthly) than a Senate meeting with these students.
I approve the motion to revote on the previous motion and adopt the words suggested by the Union President.
Fiona waited for any other comments from senators or students before closing the vote:
Voting:
Approve: 7
Abstain: 2
Deny: 0
Motion approved.
