FOR ALL OUR CHILDREN* BOOKS AND enlIDMENT Give teachers the tools - and the pay! related pay and rises related to "professional competencies'.
As important however will be the fight to make teachers realise that this government will not hand teachers a decent pay rise without a fight.
Blair has made it clear that he Wants to take on the teaching unions. The NUT leadership wants to come to an accommodation with the government.
A fight to raise the confidence of teachers to ensure we meet Blair head on is also a fight for a new fighting leadership in the NUT. decisions are often made behind By a TGWU member LIVERPOOL Dockers called a meeting on September 19 to set up a new left in the Transport and General Workers Union. The need for this had been made particularly clear by the lack of support the dockers had received from the union's leadership during their long and courageous struggle. activists answered the call. meeting and set the general sity to go to a system where officials are elected. to hold 6-monthly meetings, steering committee was set up, and there will be a voice through the publication Off need for an open organisathis development.
Test
One test of this new left current will be its role in union elections.
Both candidates for the all important Deputy General Secretary elections claim 'broad left' support. (The deputy usually becomes General Secretary.)
One of the speakers at Liverpool was Fred Higgs, National Secretary for the Chemical Workers Trade Group. He is also one of the candidates for Deputy General Secretary. It was positive that Higgs was willing to speak to the meeting and be questioned and criticised. He argued that the union should have done more for the dockers.
The other candidate is Margaret Prosser, T&GWU's representative on Labour's NEC who has supported all of Blair's moves. Higgs is clearly to the left of her.
However too often union left organisations have become bogged down in electoralism as a substitute for building struggle. The consequence is an inability to hold leaders to account. It will be a challenge to keep this current from following some "broad lefts" in other unions, down that road.