Union Reform has only just begun – now we need you

After a hefty debate about my paper, with many a discussion being had about if we need Union reform, when we need Union reform, why we need Union reform, and how we should do Union reform, the paper was passed, with an amendment limiting the scope of reform to democratic engagement; currently done through Union Council and its subcommittees.

If you missed my article last week, here is a quick summary why I want to shake things up at the Union. I believe that the Union is currently not doing a great job of involving students in the decision making process.

The procedure for the passing of motions for the improvement of the student experience is often bureaucratic, new changes have to go through long periods of exhaustive and exhausting review before being implemented (often lasting as long as or even longer than than a year or two!) and are incredibly inaccessible for the average student. This might mean that a change you set in motion could only be enacted after you graduate. As a new Council Rep last year, I faced a steep learning curve that barred me from getting more involved and this is an issue faced by Council Reps every year, as well as people on CSP committees, Management Groups, etc.

Union Council is the central democratic body of the Union. It’s where, in theory, the work of Officer Trustees (the elected President + Deputy Presidents) is scrutinised, and where senior volunteers pass policy for the Union. However, over the last few years it has become increasingly clear that it hasn’t been successful in acting upon these principles, with some volunteers feeling that it’s one great big formality and that very little is actually achieved. I don’t believe this is to do with the people elected on to Council; the people on Council are some of the hard-working and committed volunteers I know, and if they weren’t, you’d expect the effectiveness to fluctuate over the years. The fact that it hasn’t been effective despite having effective individuals sitting on it suggests that the way Council is structured is the source of the problem – the structure of the Union’s current democratic processes do not allow for our students to flourish and really lead the Union.

Last week I put out a call in my article calling on students to come to Council to show support for my paper. I was messaged by people who said they were surprised that they could just show up to these meetings. Despite the Union trying to communicate this year that anyone can come to Council and propose a policy paper, non-voting member attendance has continued to be virtually non-existent. These are the main reasons why I think we need a better democratic structure that allows for grassroots participation and for our students to lead the way in how the Union is run. After I argued strongly for change, Union Council agreed and has approved a process for reform.

Many senior volunteers were concerned that this reform would lead nowhere, especially with the spectre of third term looming on the horizon. Would it even be possible to get the new structure passed in time? This is where you step in; the procedure to achieve a more transparent, member- led, and accessible Union needs students from all parts of campus (and other campuses!) to join in a “working group”. This group would meet regularly and discuss where our Union succeeds, where it fails, what other student Unions do better, and most importantly: how we can improve our own Union. Whether it be a modified version of Council or something completely different, by the end of it we will come up with a proposal that the majority of the working group will agree on, and submit to Council for it to be approved. Who knows, it might be the last thing Council passes in its current form!

Any major changes to the Union require a 2/3rd majority vote at Council. This is incredibly hard to win, especially when proposing something this huge. This is why we need to make sure that the proposal has backing from all kinds of students – such as academic and wellbeing reps, clubs and societies committee members, management group volunteers, council members, Officer Trustees, and even students who don’t hold an elected role. The changes will affect the way that everyone participates with the Union, so we need lots of students to get involved and make sure that we get it right – after all, you know better than we do how you interact with the Union!

So come along to the discussions when you want, contribute what you can, and get involved with a project that will make the Union work better for you in 2020 and beyond! Sign up for the working group at bit.ly/ICUReform, and contact me at ab4616@ic.ac.uk if you have any questions or ideas for the Union!