Swansea University Students’ Union has become the first in Wales to boycott oil, gas, and mining recruitment, after a motion was passed as part of the student-led Fossil Free Careers campaign. It now joins the Swansea University and College Union (UCU) branch which has also voted to back the Fossil Free Careers campaign.
As a result of the motion, Swansea Students’ Union will now no longer allow oil, gas or mining companies to attend recruitment events in their buildings. The Students’ Union will not endorse any events that feature companies from the industry, and will be actively campaigning for an end to fossil fuel recruitment on campus.
There are now 14 Students’ Unions across the UK that have passed motions to boycott fossil fuel recruitment. The Fossil Free Careers campaign at Swansea already has the backing of the Swansea UCU branch, which passed a motion in January that “calls on Swansea Employability Academy (SEA) to stop actively promoting careers in the oil, gas, and mining industries.”
Tom Kemp, Welsh Affairs Officer at Swansea Student’s Union, said:
Students of Swansea University have made their voices loud and clear; they no longer wish to work in environmentally damaging sectors. Whilst Swansea University and the Students’ Union are champions of sustainability and have already come leaps and bounds over recent years, we now need to continue this work and continue to lead the way.