THE CURRENT TEACHERS pay dominate the first day of the National Union of Teachers annual conference at Scarborough this Easter. Teachers are campaigning for £1200 rise for all teachers as a first step to restoring the 33 per cent Teachers learnt lesson last year when despite opposition from the SOCa ST Teachers Alliance (STA) and others on the lett, the claim was taken to arbitration resulting in a mere 0.62 per cent increase on the employers 4.5 per cent offer. The conference will be executive BIsCUSSIlmotion on the next phase of the campaign.
There increasing calls to step up the level of action, which is based the moment on three-day strikes in selected areas.
The union needs to call out MUCH greater unDers than the 8000 involved in une ast weck. a subslalltial number of teachers in selected cities need to be called out indefinitely, and fight will the whole of the membership involved in rolling strike action.
one-day national strike should be added, to organise mass meetings and mobilise support for the monthly levy to sustain the campaign.
NUT executive, personal capacity.
Keith Joseph has produced a white paper OIOvocatively entitled 'Better Schools' Coupled with his proposal to introduce meril pay' for vulslallding teachers this represents a concerted attack on aLICOl isolate teachers. The Tory's objective is to produce, a pliant workforce which will fall in line with their proposais to remuroauce d selective system of education talloring education to the employers' priorities.
The campaign mụch therefore about more than salaries -it is about the condition which teachers work in and the whole education system. At the members of the STA will be arguing the need to take the campaign out to win Sune active support working class parents, and Lo uk uo witn ocner uauc unions involved in pay campaigns and defence of jobs and services.
Teachers are conscious that the fight will not easy one after the miners strike. There is however no choice but to fight.
The leadership of the is constantly worance avou uie sece com. petition for members in teaching but during the re. cent action there were recruits than the union could handle centrally. Marie Price of the Mansfield Womens' Support Group told striking teachers in Westminster never to say that three-day sorid is am "What you sarc strikes are fighting for is extremely M00 al adu C0le to spread everywhere I gơ' Socialist Teachers Alliance conference meetings:
All at the St Nicholas Hotel.
Friday 7.30pm: The pay campaign. East London and Lambeth NUT followed by STA pre-conference briefing. Sunday 7.30pom: Jerem Corbyn, MP anc FDR/FMLN representative.
Monday 7.30pm: Women in the NUT.
Tuesday 7.30pm: Rate. capping Hilda Kean, eader Hackney Council. Wednesday 7.00pm Better Schools. A socialist reply. Disco tickets £3 Conference caucus every lunchtime.
Court. However, at two NALGO branch meetings the membership has been split over the question of taking action — ie., striking or at least 'working in under union control - or not.
The work-in proposal would mean employees KCouE SUrC Sel Vicc Tull ing under trade union control while supported by levy on union members in other local authorities. However these decisions
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decline in their pay over the last 10 years. They have rejected the employers' offer of four per cent, and a proposed move to take the issue to arbitration.