A couple of weeks ago, Co-Branch Secretary Alex Kidd, Co-Social secretary Aniqah Rawat, and Co-Communications officer Alex Tissandier travelled down to Brighton to represent the University of Bristol at UNISON’s National Delegates Conference.
Over the course of the week, Alex K. and Aniqah took turns on the conference floor, voting (and speaking!) on a whole range of motions that will influence Unison’s activity over the next year.
Although there was no specific motion on Higher Education, delegates from HE institutions managed to draw attention to the crisis in HE funding while talking on other motions.
On Friday, Aniqah spoke on a motion against the Far Right, giving the Higher Education sector some much-needed exposure. Her excellent speech was covered by Unison here.
We also attended fringe meetings throughout the week, on topics including climate change, wealth tax, and standing up to the far right.
At the Higher Education fringe, a speaker from Essex University was asked about their top organising strategies, and replied “Always plan your action around open days – a strategy we learned from the University of Bristol.”
John McDonnell
Unison’s new General Secretary Andrea Egan (who we campaigned for!) was a constant presence during the conference – at almost every fringe event we attended she would make an appearance with a specific, relevant speech.
Andrea’s presence at the Higher Education fringe meeting on Tuesday was especially welcome, given that the sector has felt neglected in the past.
The threat of the far right was perhaps the most prominent theme of the conference, with a large number of motions and fringe events devoted to it. The sense of urgency and recognition of the work to be done stood in marked contrast to the recent reluctance of our own vice-chancellor to condemn the far right (expect more on this soon).
