- Conference
- 2020 Higher Education Service Group Conference
- Date
- 16 September 2019
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that although the report of the Review of Post 18 Education and Funding in England falls far short of UNISON’s policies on the future of Higher Education (HE) it cannot be ignored. Even in a period of political uncertainty and ministerial changes in government, its analysis and recommendations are likely to continue to feature in policy debates and decisions over the coming years. The review, undertaken by a panel chaired by Dr Philip Augar, has given fresh impetus to the debate about how to:
1)achieve greater balance and co-ordination across the whole post-18 education system in England;
2)strengthen technical education and support for STEM subjects to boost economic productivity;
3)increase opportunity, by getting more disadvantaged young people into post-18 education and reversing the decline in lifelong learning.
As one would expect from a report commissioned by the Conservative government, worthwhile aims are undermined by a dogmatic adherence to austerity economics and the proposition that more can be delivered with less – and a coded snobbishness toward post 1992 universities. These find their expression in the report’s recommendations to:
a)freeze per student resource for three years from 2020/21 to 2022/23;
b)find efficiency savings across the HE sector;
c)adjust grants, with universities potentially receiving less resource for humanities and social sciences courses;
d)bear down on what the report calls ‘low value HE’ and ‘certain courses at certain institutions’ by introducing caps and raising entry requirements.
As UNISON members in HE will know only too well, those who pay the cost of such measures, if they are enacted, are far more likely to be those in non teaching roles as well as the students themselves, who will experience a decline in the first class support that they receive from the wider university workforce.
Conference notes that the report has been published at a time of political and economic uncertainty. A General Election could happen at any time. It’s in this context that UNISON as a leading Trade Union for HE, that also has members in the wider world of post-18 education, should now play a leading role in the debate about the future of the sector and its importance to the country while maintain its first class status in the future.
As the Augar report points out, universities are one of the great forces shaping the modern world and driving progress. They have a huge impact on the economy and, alongside local government and the NHS, make a considerable civic contribution, especially in economically vulnerable communities. As such it’s vital that they also model employers, delivering decent pay and terms and conditions to all of their employees, taking full responsibility for the entire HE work community.
Conference therefore calls on the HESGE to develop a work programme to:
1)Campaign to ensure that universities are well funded from general taxation to provide excellent higher education in our world class universities.
2)Ensure that the union uses the debate around the Augar report and the future of post-18 education to advance the case for free tuition for all, with maintenance grants and measures to support participation for all students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
3)Ensure that the perspectives and best practice of the distinctive models for HE that are seen in Scotland and Wales form part of the debate about the future of HE in England.
4)Build a campaign to ensure that members, and future members, are employed directly by universities so that all staff are part of fully integrated university teams. Where university staff are outsourced, to initiate a campaign to bring those workers back in-house and provide a best practice model of industrial relations for the private sector to follow. Work with regions to ensure branch and membership participation, focussing particularly on regions where outsourced workers are increasing in the sector.
5)Publicise the campaign on all HE social media platforms and encourage branch engagement. Work with Labour Link with a view to increasing support for the campaign the labour party.
6)Devise case study that demonstrates the benefits of outsourced workers coming back in house, and campaign for our universities to become the best possible employers.