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Dr Steve Lui (Dr Sun Chong Lui) (University of Huddersfield)

31 January 2020

Election address

Steve Lui, Senior Lecturer, University of Huddersfield
Branch Chair since 2012
Treasurer Y+H Region and co-convenor Y+H Black Staff Network
NEC NE
Legal Panel
Member UCU Left

Climate Emergency
I have been inspired by youth strike for climate emergency. UCU has been campaigning for a more sustainable workplace and curriculum however we need to do more (i.e. call for a stoppage for climate emergency, encourage UCU members to support climate action and groups).

Building an Active Union
We need to build a united, democratic, strong and effective UCU. Membership recruitment is important. We need to represent members for their legal cases.  UCU must support branches and union activists to recruit more members.

Huddersfield UCU branch effectively negotiated the lecture capture and doctoral policies with our employer with the assistance from both regional branches and office. We gained more new members and developed into an active local branch due to these activities. UCU needs to build strong local branches by recruiting more local activists and equipping them with more resources and skills necessary to enhance the health of local branches. UCU also needs to actively support both Regional and National committees as they are democratic forums for debate within UCU.

Strengthen our Voice
For years, we have suffered under austerity. UCU needs to urge the government to stop the cuts to education and end decades of under-investment. University employers are actively attacking our jobs with bullying tactics, voluntary severance scheme and redundancy, and challenging University staff contracts.  University employers are eroding staff work-life balance by intensification of workload; this was reflected in the recent "Quality of Working Life" survey.  Universities staff are facing higher mental health risk than other professions. UCU must protect all members to avoid undue workload pressure and must resist the matrix culture of the University employers for their TEF and REF targets.  We must defend decent pensions, both USS and TPS schemes, for university staff.

Equality
For the past year, I have worked with BMSC and Y+H black staff network highlighting race equality issues. UCU needs to address the whole equality issues: gender, ethnicity, sexuality and disability. We need to enhance equality structures in UCU by actively promoting the regional equality networks.

Are we International?
We are all affected by the Brexit vote. UCU needs to positively campaign to defend the rights of EU and non-EU colleagues and their right to work in the UK.

We must defend academic freedom and reclaim universities as institutions of learning. International solidarity should be part of UCU's work. We should affirm our support for the right of Palestinian independent state and oppose the erosion of democracy by Xi, Trump, Putin and others.  We must uphold democratic rights internationally.

 

Last updated: 31 January 2020