UCU election – a debate on the kind of union we want

Elections in the UCU union are set to begin on Monday of next week. Members of the UCU Left are standing for national officer and national executive committee (NEC) positions.

The NEC will consider proposals from general secretary Sally Hunt and other officials in March. These include ending annual conferences, cutting delegate numbers, shrinking the NEC, holding fewer meetings and making staff redundant.

This could hinder the union’s ability to campaign and damage its democracy.

UCU Left members put forward an alternative motion that would rule out compulsory redundancies.

But the majority of the NEC, led by the Communist Party-dominated Independent Broad Left, rejected it.

Many of Hunt’s proposals were already overwhelmingly rejected at the UCU conference last year.

UCU Left member Tom Hickey told Socialist Worker, “This is about the future of UCU. We need a union with the organisational structures capable of mounting campaigns.

“Some of the changes proposed could lead to a union with no campaigning muscle. The debate about what kind of union we want will be at the forefront of the UCU Left’s election campaign.”

For more details see www.uculeft.org