All out to stop education cuts

capacity). SATURDAY October 19 is the date now set for what should be the biggest-ever march against cuts in education.

Unlike most recent national protests, organised by the uofficial Fight Against Education Cuts (FACE), the October demonstration has been called by the biggest teaching union, the National Union of Teachers. This represents a huge political advance.

A little over a year ago NUT leaders were expending seemingly limitless energy and union resources on sabotaging their own conference's call to ballot for nade dan e —..a a state education. te espa: io be fully behind ta: s annua. conterence decision to organise in conjunction with as many as possible of.. CASE [the Campaign for State Education], FACE, racher unions the TUC and education campaign groups, a major public demonstration before the Chancellor's Autumn Statement 1996"

Support has already been promised by the TUC, the GMB, TGWU, UNISUN and rACE, whilst bot the Association of County Councils and Association of Metropolitan Autorities wil ne circu ana deals Education has been centre stage for over a year and both Labour and the Tories have sought to benefit from declaring it their number one priority.

The Tories have been trying to turn the battle around the issue of selection, whilst the central problem - the chronic underfunding of state education - remæn bnz cłe v e ties. Only the Liberal Democrats with their 'In on income tax for education see „nn reco ree ac a winner.

The Tories clearly recognise that education cuts are a vote loser last Autumn they sought to defuse the anger of 'middle England, which FACE had so adentiv focused. bv tweaking the Standard Spending Assessments (SSAS) to make it look as if they had given more money to Education.

The reality is that they actually cul the amount of money they gave to Local Government, and only sharp increases in this year's council tax have avoided a repetition of the 10,000 teacher redundancies seen last year.

But a survey by the non-TUC affiliated ATL (Association of Teachers and Lecturers) suggests that as many as 4,000 teachers may still lose their jobs this year. And more cuts are already on the horizon next year.

The key to making the demonstration a major success lies in mobilising the tens of thousands of parents, teachers. governors and students who've had enough of cuts.

While the NUT leadership, in common with most of the current trade union leaders, has had little recent experience of organising mass protests, there are manz lav activists who seem to have done little else over the past year or two!

It is essential that all those who want additional money for public services (and not just education) see the Autumn demonstration as their demonstration.

October 19 must be built as the most high profile assertion of the defence of public services against the onslaught of private profit.

With schools having only just reopened after the summer holiday, there are only about six weeks left to build the demonstration.

Local campaigns should be linking up with the NUT and other teacher/public sector unions to publicise the event by leafletting town centres and outside schools.

If FACE could call and organise an 'uofficial demonstration of 15,000 in under 4 weeks (as they did in March 1995), an 'official event called by the largest teachers' union should mobilise many times this number.

If the demonstration is a success it will put massive pressure on the government to release additional resources for Education and other public services.

It will elso defacto he a challenge to the logic of Maastricht, with its huge cuts in public spending, which have trig### ASSEMBLE:

12pm - Ipm VICTORIA EMBANKMENT COACH SET-DOWN at WATERLOO BRIDGE RALLY in HYDE PARK 3pm -4pm COACH PICK-UP at PARK LANE. gered mass protests in Italy, France and, most recently, Germany.

October 19 1996 could be the day that the tide turns here: it is up to every one of us to make sure that it des!

Demonstrate October 19