10,000 PEOPLE joined the FACE (Fight Against Cuts in Education) demonstration in central London on September 30.
It was the second show of massive national support for FACE, a campaign built by parents, school governors and teachers across the country Ospre tie tack of olicia backing from the TUC, most unions or the Labour Panty. Although one teaching union, the NASUWT, has given support, leaders of the largest, the NUT.
nave set out to sabotage PACE The Labour Party leadership did not attend either march. 'New La. bour' has made no commitment to eresak curs i ontary ane secon dary education: instead Labour councils across the country are wilding the spending axe on behalf of John Major.
Labour has caved in to many of the Tory market-style reforms in education, not least with Blair's decision to send his son to one of the tiny minority of opted-out schools They use the same arguments -about "faiting teachers" and bad parents -to justify education cuts.
Rather than tax the ruling class. Labour wants to cut taxes even fur ther than the Tories have done. They pretend that a one-off levy on water, gas and electricity monopolies can reverse unemployment. Labour won cul suosidies fo private schools or take hundreds of thousands of university students out of poverty.
Despite its endless retoric about naoo on. Hints teuc Lance to fix a minimum wage shows that Labour essentially agrees with the Tories on the need to convert Britain into a low-wage sweatshop for the European Union.
The FACE demonstration is a symbol of massive dissatisfaction with poor edocation. Important trade unions - the GMB, UNISON. NASUWT -did back the demonstra. tion, showing that unions can be won EDITORIALS FACE gives us an opportunity to turn the unions around to the light against education cuts. regardless of what Labour thinks.
To defeat the Tories, and to win a Labour government committed to education, campaigners will need to work together to create permanent organisations which can draw in every possible ally.
This won't be easy. The right wing leaders in the unions meekly place all their hope in the lection of a Blair-Jed Labour government, and The NUT's leaders, in particular. have attempted to turn every campaign into an excuse to snuggle up to the Labour Party. After selling out the campaign against the SATs tests betore any real gains could be won from the government, NUT General Secretary McA voy went on to campaiga successfully against strike action on class sizes which would have NATIONAL UNION OF TEACHERS linked the NUT with campaigns of parents and goverors, and to denounce FACE as an 'SWP front'.
Despite his efforts, the number of NUT banners on the FACE demonstration showed that members are keen to link up with others to fight the education cuts.
Opportunity
FACE gives us an opportunity to tur the unions around, so that they act to support working class people, not Labour and the ruling class. A link-up between education unions and a broadly-based organisation of dents would challenge both the Tories and 'New Labour' The decision of FACE to remain non-party political reflects more than its broad support from across the soPhote: Joha Lister cial and political spectrum: it also reveals a widespread dissatisfaction with the Labour Party's inability to lead the fight against education cuts.
Freed from the apion strings which tie the NUT leaders to Blair's timid and ineffective clique, FACE is not only more able to fight the cuts - it is able to challenge Shadow spokesman David Blunkett's pathetic pledge to restrict class sizes to 40, and continue the open fight necessary to commit the Labour Party to reversing education cuts.
Anther FACE conference will be be held in the new year. Every student, worker, socialist or parent must start where they can to build for it, developing a broad coalition spanming usoc unions, the Labour Party and community organisations of all types that are willing to fight for CHUCHLE