Free education/SOAS Occupation/Demands

LIST OF DEMANDS:

These are non-negotiable

1. No job losses (including fractionals) as outlined within £3-5m cuts

• ‘necessary’ savings should start with the wages of top management
• not only within the curriculum review, as a written assurance should include all staff
• assurance of no compulsory redundancies as well as coercive voluntary redundancies can be issued for a specific timeframe
• an end to exploitative contracts, all demands of Fractionals for Fair Play to be met immediately

2. No course cuts

• Departmental bottom-up review, not hand-picked reps
• Open Forums which discuss and plan the process of the curriculum review with veto powers
• Apology from entire executive, no scapegoating of individuals (Pro-Director, Director etc)
• Detailed explanation of how this document was ever created, thus realising responsibility and accountability for the process
• More transparency: data which was shown at executive board away-day to be made publicly accessible and shared with students and staff

3. No outsourcing tender process

• all outsourced staff to be brought in house and no increase in outsourcing
• no victimisation of union reps specifically and campaigners in general
• The human rights record and history of mistreatment of workers of companies such as Mitie (which runs immigration detention centres such as Colnbrook IRC, Harmondsworth IRC and Colnbrook IRC), ISS, Ocean, and Cofely are unacceptable. This is another reason why there should be no outsourcing whatsoever.
• SOAS to divest from the prison-industrial complex and profiteeting in the immigration detention

4. Democratisation of Governance

• Devolving powers to departments and decentralising decision making
• Amend SOAS Standing Order II(i) to re-constitute Academic Board with an equal number of elected HODs and elected non-executive academic staff (as well as 3-4 elected student representatives, 3-4 ex officio managers, and an elected non-executive academic chair) to receive reports, vote on proposals, and communicate directly with the SOAS Board of Trustees [2]
• Amend SOAS Standing Order IV(iii) to modernize Executive Board so that proposals affecting academic research, teaching, and student welfare are put to vote by Academic Board as a matter of routine (not merely ‘as necessary’)
• Amend SOAS Charter Article IX to establish a SOAS Community body with universal membership and, meeting once each term, the power to vote on proposals put forward by the School’s Academic and/or Executive Board
• Establish a SOAS Community Forum (students, non-academic and academic staff) meeting once each term to provide all members of SOAS with a venue to discuss issues of mutual concern.
• This sovereign SOAS Community Forum to hold veto rights over executive board decisions
• students and (academic & support) staff representation on executive board
• governing body meetings should be open to students and staff as observers
• any unanimous joint vote of staff and students equals a veto on the governing body

5. The Academic Boycott (BDS)

• The Academic Boycott (BDS), which was voted in favour by 73% at last year’s referendum, of Israel to be implemented immediately
• The Ethics Panel should consider the details of its implementation and make proposals

6. PREVENT & CTSA

• Stop the implementation of the PREVENT strategy
• Send an apology to all student and staff, making sure to acknowledge the effects these decisions have had on muslim students and staff within SOAS
• Join the NUS and other universities in their strong opposition to PREVENT and the Counter-Terrorism & Security Act, lobby government to abolish both
• make all PREVENT working group minutes accessible to the public
• Make a public statement advertising this move