Birmingham UCU branch motion on procurement and Real Living Wage accreditation

This motion was passed at our General Members Meeting on Tuesday, 11 February ratified by the Committee on Monday, 17 February.

This branch notes that:

• the University of Birmingham’s senior management have made the University reliant on procurement and subsidiaries for a large number of key essential services and operations;
• the University currently outsources mental health and wellbeing services for staff and students, construction work on campus buildings and estates, and it has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary company that does not recognise trade unions, that maintains a two-tier workforce, and does not pay at least the Real Living Wage; 
• as more outsourced catering outlets are opened on campus, those operated by in house University staff are being reduced such as with the closure of the Noble Room in Staff House;
• the procurement process can be used to secure good working conditions in the organisations that offer outsourced services (for instance, in construction);
• workplaces with trade union recognition agreements have fewer accidents.
• Coventry University’s senior management have introduced ‘Fire and Rehire’ proposals that put 340 academics at risk of redundancy: these staff would be fired and two thirds would be rehired in subsidiary companies owned by the University on inferior terms and conditions. 

This branch believes that:

• By outsourcing their services and workers, University senior management have sought to avoid liability and obligations in their duty of care to workers, in particular in the area of Health and Safety;
• In post-92 institutions, such as at Coventry University, the creation of subsidiaries are being used by institutions to avoid their obligations to enrol new staff in high quality pension schemes;
• Subsidiaries typically employ their staff on inferior terms and conditions, and in ways that threaten existing pension schemes;
• Trade Unions introduce democratic decision making and oversight in workplaces; 
• Trade Unions help ensure safer work environments and better working conditions for all.

This branch demands that:

• The University implements an ethical procurement policy, in collaboration with the recognised trade union branches on campus. 
• Workers at the Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre (EPH), all catering workers, and mental health and disability-related support workers need to be employed directly by the University of Birmingham; these services should be undertaken in-house and employed on the same terms as current in-house staff;
• Real Living Wage accreditation is a requirement for all the subsidiaries that the University contracts through the procurement process.