Protest this Thursday 28 November for free speech on Palestine in Bloomsbury

This Thursday 28 November, UCU is encouraging union members to participate in the Workplace Day of Action for Palestine (backed by the TUC). 

At UCL, to mark the Day of Action there will be a protest in the UCL Quad at 12 noon called by the UCL staff and student Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) group.

Following this, London Region UCU has called a protest against the injunction limiting the right to protest on the land belonging to the University of London in Bloomsbury. The protest will be outside Senate House on Malet Street from 1-2pm, and union branches across London have been encouraged to send delegations.

The freedoms to assemble, protest and speak freely are closely connected to academic freedom and its defence. Academic freedom, likewise, includes the freedom to challenge universities over their governance. Normally universities resolve disputes internally, and do not go to court to manage their student and staff community.

But now a political dispute at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) has led to a preventative court injunction limiting free speech and the right to protest on the land belonging to the University of London in Bloomsbury, including land around SOAS, Birkbeck and the Institute of Education. We explain the background below. 

Your committee encourages colleagues to attend this protest, which is also supported by SOAS and Birkbeck UCU branches, University of London IWGB, Universities and College Workers for Palestine, PSC and the Stop the War Coalition.

Background

Management at the University of London (supported by SOAS management) recently obtained an interim injunction banning two named SOAS students and a graduate, and “persons unknown” protesting (or leafleting) on University of London land in Bloomsbury without express permission, where those protests or leaflets are “associated with” the SOAS encampment, BDS or a campaign to democratise SOAS and its Student Union. The latter campaign began after two elected sabbatical officers (one of whom is named in the injunction) were summarily dismissed before they were able to take up their posts.

This injunction follows threats made by the same university authorities to SOAS UCU and UNISON strikers preventing them from picketing their place of work in recent strikes, compelling them to set up pickets on Malet Street and Russell Square.

We believe this preventative injunction is a serious problem for staff and students at UCL. Any member of the UCL community could potentially be said to be “persons unknown”, their protests held to be connected to the SOAS dispute, and therefore told they were breaching this injunction and liable for damages and even potentially criminal prosecution. This is a clear example of the “chilling effect” on all of us that arises when free speech is curtailed for some.

Last Thursday, Birkbeck UNISON called a protest on the concourse over insourced support staff not being paid properly. Initially, Birkbeck management said they thought this protest might breach the injunction, and told the union they could not hold it. Although this ban was rescinded, a presumption in favour of the freedom to protest is being exchanged for a presumption to seek permission to do so. This is a serious problem that should concern all of us. 

We write to UCL’s Provost, Michael Spence, about this issue. He declined to take the same stance against the injunction as the Birkbeck Warden, saying only that he had discussed the union’s concerns with the University of London. He said that the VC had told him that the University was “fully committed to upholding legitimate freedom of speech,” but he would “keep the situation under review,” and raise any issues brought to him from staff and students.

We believe this situation is unsustainable, puts colleagues and students in jeopardy, and represents a significant restriction on free speech that is not justified by any tangible risk to staff or students belonging to either University of London or SOAS, and that therefore the injunction should be lifted.

We stand by the principle that an injury to one is an injury to all.

We strongly encourage colleagues to attend the protest at 1pm on Malet Street this Thursday.

See also: https://www.ucu.org.uk/CeasefireNow#DayofAction

UCL UCU Executive Committee
https://ucl-ucu.org.uk/