(Delogate Hull NUT) and Roy Leach (NUT Exec), both in a personal capacity A NUMBER of highly significant gains were registered by the left at NUT conference, held over the Easter week-end.
The background to the conference has been continued attacks on education accompanied by local action against cuts in areas such as Oxford and Nottingham.
A key factor in the run-up to the conference was the emergence of organised groups of governors and parents who have been willing to stand alongside teachers.
The most important of sponse. these groups has been Fight Against Cuts in Education (FACE)
Pay Conference agreed a left motion on pay. This was in response to years of poor pay awards from the Teachers Pay and Conditions Review Body: The national leadership of the union have consistently and correctly condemned the Pay Review Body and its pay awards but the executive have done nothing to attempt to mobilise teachers for a pay campaign.
The successful motion education cuts. commits the NUT to calling a special one day salaries conference in the Autumn term to plan a serious pay campaign for the first time in years.
Class size There were major debates on the issue of class size at all three of the teaching unions conferences held over Easter. The most surprising thing be- like FACE". ing that all three have agreed to take some form of action over the problem of increasing class sizes.
Following a heated debate, next few months. NUT conference passed a left motion committing the union to ballot for a one day strike in the summer term.
The attack on education is a national attack and a na- on September 30th. tional strike will provide an appropriate national reThe NUT leadership fought to defeat the strike call and the left will have to work negative. very hard to overcome the sabotaging actions of the executive and Doug McAvoy.
Local action should also be used to build support for the forthcoming national strike.
The emergence of FACE Union (CDFU). over the last few months is of central importance to the new position facing those who work in education.
FACE has successfully brough together parents, governors and teachers in a national united response to Sue Lister, Chair of FACE, spoke to a packed fringe meeting organised as a recall meeting of the Oxford Conference on Pay and Conditions.
The disgraceful refusal of the NUT leadership to back the FACE demonstration in March was attacked from the conference floor, and policy was passed "welcoming the formation of organisations This conference endorsement should enable the number of NUT branches affiliated to rocket over the Teachers, parents and governors need to be building now for the FACE conference on June 10th and for the proposed national demonstration There were two important at NUT conference with the developments within the SWP refusing to participate in NUT left. Unfortunately, one the STA. was positive and the other phrase, leading SWP teacher The welcome develop- Shaun Docherty stated at an ment was the better working open left meeting, "I will not relationship between the So- be influenced by the outcome cialist Teachers Alliance of this meeting". (STA) and the Campaign for a Democratic and Fighting a tactical proposal from the SWP. There are clearly differJoint meetings were held, ences within the SWP on this joint slates agreed and tactical question and every avenue agreements reached on a needs to be kept open for the whole range of matters. involvement of those SWP Socialist Outlook support- teachers who understand the ers in the NUT fully support continued need for left unity. this development, and will continue to work to bring the tary, Doug McAvoy, has atorganised left together. tacked the decisions of NUT The unwelcome develop- conference, stating that conferMass protests against education cuts influenced NUT delegates, but not the platform.
The effect of this was seen In one sadly memorable