Guild councillors, what a bunch of tossers

A Bunch of tossers amongst whom, arguments like “we shouldn’t give a shit” still give traction.

The ethical investment policy passed with a few amendments. The amendments like removing references to the nuclear industry were fine and constructive; they helped make the policy a more representative of student’s opinions.

Considering the policy had been posted online for discussion weeks ago, that a forum was run to discuss the content, which was advertised with large posters around the guild, on the front page of the website and that I made myself personally available to come meet anyone privately to discuss it. The fact that the opposition waited until 2 minutes before it went to vote, to air their problems, shows to me that they had no intention of a constructive debate and just wanted it off the agenda.

Their argument, was what disgusted me most, it was not the content but the principle. Large numbers of guild councillors just don’t think the guild should have concerns for the ethics of its practices and all ethical motions should be rejected.
I had told someone just an hour before to not bother coming because I was sure there would not be a “no” vote, just amendments, yet again I was proven wrong and guild councillors have managed to prove in my eyes that they are just a bunch of repulsive sycophants who need to be watched like hawks.

Go find your guild councillors here

Challenge them ask which way they voted, argue with them, run against them, stop them getting elected.

A lot of them will have plans for becoming guild officers, if they don’t give a shit about ethical issues, make damn sure they don’t.

The worker rights consortium lets make Birmingham the first UK University to sign up!

There is motion going through on this next guild concil, I have written the below so you can get a better understanding of what it is about, I'm happy to answer any questions.

Launched last year this group is fast becoming a amazing success story, its already protected thousands of worker around the world and helped them get a fair wage and decent representation. 186 university have signed up and the group is fast spreading, just within the last few weeks 4 Canadian universities became the first to join in Canada

This group is set up as monitoring organization to guarantee the implementation by large brands and their sub contractors of the standards that the university requires of them.

Currently there is a wide gap, between the requirements of consumers and the actions on the ground of factories owners, sub contracted out to sub contractors of big brands. As I’m sure you all know large brands do not accept responsibility for the actions of doubly sub contracted producers and it is a system in which a great many abuses and lapses take place.

For example just this in 2009, locals protesting against a mine where hooded, shackled and beaten, toxic waste was dumped in west Africa by a oil firm and 1800 people where sacked for trying to unionize at a factory that makes university hoodies in Honduras, this same group has also been shown to have a policy of firing pregnant women, the last group being a company that sells to both the university and guild of students.

The point is that while we all agree to these standards, there is no monitoring body and no global strategic frameworks in place for ensuring they are met in supply chains that have greatly deferred responsibility.

This body has been set up and has been very successful already. In fact just last week it got the jobs back of the 1800 workers who were sacked for unionizing, a fair wage for them and the right to unionize and a fair wage 7 other factories run by the same company in the country.

The workers rights consortium monitors and mediates the implementation of these standards and reports back to universities on the pace of improvement. By joining the workers rights consortium, the university would be pooling its bargaining power that it holds via large procurement contracts with 186 other universities from all over the world.

Signing up would involve no change in supplier simply the better monitoring of that suppliers work and a better mediation between workers and large accountable companies, the WRC has the full support of the FLO and Fairtrade Foundation.

If there is no struggle, there is no progress.

If there is no struggle, there is no progress.
As mandated the motion “protect students” in June guild council, I helped facilitate two training events for students. One was activist legal training teaching students about police powers to take your name, date of birth and residence, to stop and search you the requirements of it, the ramifications of being arrested and ways to avoid getting arrested common mistakes and police tricks. The other one was methods of peaceful resistance how to use non compliance tactics to resist police force and violence, how make a difference and avoid getting hurt. The sessions where run by a woman who has devoted her life to non violent tactics as methods for change and who works for the “activist legal project” an oxford based NGO. Both of these sessions can be run again for your group and if you are interested contact me at e.bauer@guild.bham.ac.uk

Much of the information about legal issues can also be found here on the activist legal projects website http://www.activistslegalproject.org.uk/

“The power that corporations and governments have over our society is maintained through oppression and through the continuing co-operation of groups and individuals. The withdrawal of that co-operation restricts or dissolves their control. Put another way, their power depends on our continuing obedience; when we refuse to obey, their power begins to crumble.” –activist legal project