Teachers' action provokes two unions were united in action and up on this strategy. The local authorities, who employ most teachers, are dominated by Labour Party councillors. The idea behind the Coventry and Nottingham deals was to show the electorate that the unions and a future Labour government could work together.
The Socialist Teachers Alliance (STA), the leading left force in the NUT, called for teachers to vote against the recent pay deal between the union and the local authorities. It was supported in a ballot by over 40 per cent of NUT members. The
SINCE ITS ELECTION in 1979, the Tory government led by Margaret
Thatcher has embarked on a policy of dealing with trade unionism head on and through legislation. Secretary of State for Education,
Kenneth Baker, is now taking this offensive one step further.
Baker's Education Bill represents another move towards state control of labour relations. If it becomes law, it will shape future legislation to prevent trade unionists defending their interests.
THERESA YORK
The Bill would allow the secretary of state to dictate teachers' pay and right of teachers in England and Wales to negotiate directly with their local authority employers. It will also attempt to ban industrial action by teachers, following two years of disputes - including strikes and a prolonged work-to-rule - between the government and the teachers' unions in primary and secondary education over pay and conditions.
The Bill proposes setting up a committee to advise the education secretary on pay and conditions, after
But it is purely an out direct negotiations between teachers and their employers.
It would thus abolish at a stroke public employeees. For the first time national rates of pay for teachers could be altered on a regional basis.
The leadership of the National
Union of Teachers (NUT), the main union involved, has concentrated its strategy for fighting the Bill via winning amendments in the House of
Lords (where new legislation is taken being brought back to a full parliament), and through a propaganda campaign. But it will only be action that can seriously challenge
Baker's proposals.
Baker's Bill follows a period of backtracking and open betrayal on the part of the teachers' unions leaderin particular the NUT, affiliated to the national Trade Union
Congress is the NAS/UWT (National
Association of Schoolmasters/Union
8 determination prior to March 1986, way that the Tory government could go on the offensive. But as soon as the NAS/UWT joined the right wing teachers' associations on the Burnham Committee (the teachers' pay panel), the Tories were able to take the initiative as the NUT leadership began to backslide.
May last year, NUT leaders instead of advancing the pay claim action. In September, they signed the "Coventry" deal on pay with the employers and an interim deal on conditions. This in turn was followed by the "Nottingham" agreement on pay and conditions, a package which threw away all the gains made in the previous 18 months of struggle. Kenneth Baker may be using a knife against the teachers, but it was the leadership of the NUT who presented him with it. Reasons for retreat by teachers' union
Why did the NUT executive retreat? The dispute has to be situated in Thatcher's Britain, with a Labour Party opposition led by Neil Kin-
The miners' strike indicated how right wing Labour leaders would respond to Tory attacks: do nothing except attack any forces on the left who fight now. This meant attacks on local councils, on Black youth or on workers who fought back.
The NUT leadership have picked salaries dispute and the fight around conditions has developed a stronger left wing in the NUT, led in particular by the STA.
Militants in the Inner London Teachers Association (ILTA, the NUT's London branch) have been leading exemplary action. On January organized a day of strike action involving 6,000 teachers against the Baker Bill. Following this success, the national NUT leadership suspended 80 members of the ILTA council.
The basis for these suspensions is supposedly that the strike was unofficial and broke union rules. In fact, the NUT leadership, fearful of growing support for the left in the union, has panicked.
On the surface, this response by the national officers of the NUT is remarkable for its short-sightedness. They are not prepared to lead action against Baker's Bill, so they have attempted to paralyse those who do want to fight. The recent agreements made on pay after a long and militant campaign by teachers confirm that the NUT leadership are prepared to sacrifice this struggle now for the future possible return of a Labour
The real test will come when teachers refuse to implement the condilaid down by Baker. Local Labour Party-led authorities will then either have to discipline the teachers who refuse to implement the new rules, or stand beside them.
The NUT Broad Left leadership (including supporters of Neil Kinnock and the various wings of the Communist Party) are unable to give a lead because of their disgraceful role in the various sell-outs. Their latest moves to suspend militants in London will lose them even more support in the union.
There is still a broad layer of teachers who are opposed to the pay deal and in particular want to fight Baker's Bill, which gives the left is. the union the opportunity to place demands for action on the NUT executive. But the first demands must be for the reinstatement of the 80 suspended ILTA teachers and for a serious commitment to action. International Viewpoint 9 February 1987
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BRITAIN suspensions