Reprieve for liberation officers as reforms defeated at chaotic union meeting

• Proposals to reduce sabb numbers and scrap full-time Women’s and BME Officers defeated
• 56% of votes in favour fell short of 75% required
• Sabb claims argument that union will collapse “is a lie” despite £650K deficit
• Meeting started late and was marred by rowdy conduct

Plans to reform UCLU were defeated last night at a meeting attended by over 500 students. 

The Meeting of Members – the first since 2011 – was adjourned after a proposal to reduce full-time union officers from 10 to 6 did not receive enough votes to pass.

Union smallprint dictated that Proposal 3, tabled by a bloc of 26 society presidents, needed to be approved by 75% of attendees in order to come into force.

It eventually won a vote with 304 votes in favour and 225 against – but its 56% majority was not enough.

The meeting started an hour late and saw heated debate over the future of the union and its finances, and complaints that students had not been consulted properly.

Women’s Officer Annie Tidbury delivered an impassioned defence of her full-time role, revealing she sees two victims of sexual violence and harassment every week.

Boat Club President Sam Inkersole had proposed a part-time Gender Equalities Officer and a “Rights and Advice Centre” as a replacement.

Inkersole said that other Russell Group universities got by with four, five or six sabbatical officers and asked why UCLU “has to be different”.

He also justified his proposal to have a single officer represent both Black & Minority Ethnic and International students, saying that he had spoken to last year’s BME Office and “she likes it”.

Tidbury complained that there was no requirement in Proposal 3 for liberation officers to self-define, and told the meeting that “there is a huge difference between knowing about oppression and experiencing it”.

Supporters of Proposal 3 argued that cuts to UCLU’s expenditure were needed to stop the union going bankrupt and to preserve student services.

Delivering a report on finances, Ethics, Environment and Operations Officer Omar Khan said the union had to break even by the start of next academic year – and that the union’s £8.8 million reserves were “bearing the brunt of the deficit”.

He also poured cold water on a suggestion that the union’s coffers would be boosted by an extra £2.4 million from the IOE’s student union and said that at the current rate of spending UCLU had 4-5 years left.

However BME Officer Hajera Begum said accusations that UCLU would be forced to close were “a lie” and that the union plans to be in deficit every year.

The rowdy meeting was adjourned after Proposal 3 failed to pass.

Embattled Union Chair Mohammad Fahed had previously lashed out at boisterous attendees, saying “you are all adults”, while one person was later booed down after telling the audience that “booing is not okay”.

Speaking to the Tab, Motion 3 proposer Sam Inkersole said: “We got a simple majority. That’s the only thing that matters really. My motion wasn’t perfect, we did it in two days.

“That’s the fault of the sabbatical officers for giving us two days to draft it.”

When asked whether the 26 societies would continue pursuing union reforms, he said: “I’ve no idea”.

A student from the Institute of Education also complained the proposals “were rushed together before any opposition from IOE could be put together”.

A date has yet to be given for the rescheduled meeting.