First Student Council meeting discusses important issues

The first Student Council (SC) meeting of the year took place in the SUHQ on Monday 21 October.

Among the issues discussed were the upcoming staff strike and the delay of the second-hand book sale.

SU support for staff strike

At the meeting, a ‘Policy for Supporting Fair Pay in Higher Education’, which discussed whether or not the Students’ Union (SU) would support the staff strike on October 31, was the most debated issue.

Miguel Costa Matos, undergraduate Social Sciences faculty representative, said: “Our lecturers and seminar tutors have received a pay cut of 13 percent. By not paying them well, the best people don’t go into higher education.

“The policy does not say we support the strike, but that they should have fair pay and should not be receiving a minimum wage.”

However, Jack Rankin, fourth-year councillor, took issue with the language. He claimed that it was “an ‘attack’ on the University”.

He explained that the pay cut and the fact that wages have not risen in five years was a result of inflation.

Ruth Pearce, a fourth-year PhD student based in the Sociology department, said: “I am asking for support when I go on strike.

“Failing to pay my colleagues… is exploitation.”

It was acknowledged that the University’s financial surplus increased from £2.7 million in 2009 to £31 million in 2012.

Ms Pearce said that the University was using huge pay rises for ‘vanity’ projects, such as the Monash collaboration, and was not paying for better teachers and feedback.

A speaker suggested that ‘there was no positive for the strike’. Lucy Gill, postgraduate officer at the SU, responded.

“Regardless of whether the strike will work or not… by expressing our support, there will be more weight in the idea that we support our members.”

In a vote by the SC, the policy to support the staff strike was passed.

Delay of SU book sale

Alongside the staff strike, the issue of the delayed second-hand book sale, which was launched on Tuesday 22 October, was raised.

Cosmo March, democracy and development officer, explained that the delay was due to the SU being “at the mercy of” the new web developer, MSL (Membership Solutions Limited).

He said: “I asked for the book sale to be on time, there was nothing more I could do but to say work faster.

“It’s not the SU, it’s MSL, who have not secured funding for investment.”

Mr Matos, however, attacked the SU: “Doesn’t the SU own MSL? You’re the bosses, do something about it.”

Mr March replied: “We are directors, but at the end of the day, we can’t sack people because they’re not working quickly enough.”

The launching of the part-time officer blogs was also delayed.

Future of the Summer Party

The SC meeting touched upon the future of the Summer Party with the ongoing developments of the National Automative Innovation Campus (NAIC) by University House.

Mr March remarked: “We are constantly thinking about [this issue]. Will it still look like a summer party?”

New venues for the Summer Party under consideration included a field in the Warwickshire region.

However, there were concerns about the safety of students on that road and concerns about the cost of renting the venue as the University does not have a license for the Warwickshire district.

Other issues raised included sexual harassment at SU events, the protection of females in postgraduate Science, the possible development of a mobile app to buy SU event tickets and concerns over the operating hours of the big screen.

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Article updated on Monday, November 11 at 16:31

Aidan Press, a third year Politics and International Studies student and Deputy Chair of Student Council, was misquoted in an earlier version of this article. He would like to clarify his position, be stating: “I think that the Student Council was not in a position to speak on behalf of the entire student body on an issue like this, and I personally feel that the strike was perhaps not in the best interests of the student body.”