UCU BRANCH UNITED AGAINST PRIVATISATION

BELOW IS THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY BY MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY (MMU) UCU AT OUR AGM IN JUNE:
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NAVITAS = PRIVATISATION

This meeting notes:
1) The on-going secret negotiations between Navitas and the management at MMU;
2) That any move to set-up an “international college” in partnership with a private sector firm is a form of back-door privatisation;
3) Such privatisation moves will have a detrimental affect on the student experience, will lead to a two-tier workforce and will see further attempts to privatise other academic provision.

This meeting re-states:
a) its opposition to all forms of privatisation at MMU; and
b) its support for “an education for all, publicly funded and democratically accountable”.

This meeting resolves to:
i) endorse the Navitas = Privatisation campaign;
ii) issue an open call for the management at MMUBS and MMU to end the secrecy around negotiations with Navitas and join with UCU in condemning privatisation in the HE sector;
iii) campaign against any future privatisation plans at MMU and for bringing back in-house currently outsourced facilities and services;
iv) support a NW “Challenging the Market in Education” conference, to be organised at MMU in the autumn term.