At the National Union of Teachers Conference in early April a number of progressive decisions were taken indicating a limited left shift for the union.
On the opening day of conference, PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka made an impressive speech calling for action to defeat the 2 percent pay limit imposed by Gordon Brown on public sector workers.
On Saturday the National Executive submitted a resolution, largely written by NUT General Secretary Steve Sinnott, proposing a national one-day strike if the government did not respond to a claim to increase teachers pay in line with the current high rate of inflation.
The resolution with a left amendment passed unanimously. Conferences called on the TUC to coordinate the of public sector unions to resist the pay freeze, but did not make NUT strike action conditional on action by others. In December 2005, the Government announced a "pay settlement" for the two-year period, September 2006 to August 2008. Teachers' pay scales were increased by 2.5 percent in September 2006 and are due to be increased by a further 2.5 cent this September. But inflation measured by the RPI now stands at 4.8 per cent. Teachers' pay is not determined by collective bargaining but decided by government appointed body, the School Teachers Pay Review Body (STRB). Looking to the left? Sinnott Embodied within the 2.5 per cent award, was an inflation trigger of 3.25 per cent.
If inflation rose above this level the pay award could be re-considered. The NUT and other teachers unions have written to the STRB to ask them to re-open talks. In turn the review body has asked the government's permission to do so.
If Education Secretary Alan Johnson fails to respond to this request or tries to palm off the union, it seems likely that the NUT will ballot for a one-day strike. If there is at least a 50 percent vote in favour there will be a one-day strike in late June or early July.
The failure to pass the main resolution on the key issue of performance related pay was a very bad result. The left were divided - not on the substantive issue of resisting the imposition of performance related pay but over what priority to give the issue at the present time.
One part of the Socialist Teachers Alliance agreed with the National Executive that one could not fight on two fronts at once (pay and performance management). inflation. Others correctly argued that the classroom observations and procedures of performance management, due to be further strengthened in September 2007, are onerous that it was essential to fight on two fronts.
The SWP seemed to have had a late change of mind and came round to supporting this second position.
It was pointed out in the debate that the PCS has made a series of related demands in its recent strikes not merely submitted pay claims or opposed to redundancies.
The agreement by the conference to ballot the membership to set up a political fund was a major victory at the conference. Part of the particular backwardness of the NUT historically has been the stress on its nonpolitical stance.
School education has been a major source of political debate and focus of mainstream politicians in the recent period to which the NUT has not responded adequately.
The NUT Executive was forced to back the resolution but still managed to force through a weakening amendment because the NASUWT, the second largest teachers union, had been using its political fund recently to finance anti-fasStriking civil servants fighting on to defend jobs and working conditions. A strong speech from PCS leader Mark Serotka set the scene for the NUT National Executive to submit a resolution, largely written by NUT General Secretary Steve Sinnott, proposing a national one-day strike if the government did not respond to a claim to increase teachers pay in line with the current high rate of cist activity.
The Executive amendment, which time constraints in the debate made impossible to oppose, sought to narrowly focus the use of the political fund on anti-fascist activity.
But when the political fund is established the left must seek to use it to fund the use of billboards in elections to bring New Labour to account on their failure to deliver on promises such as reducing class sizes and on other issues such as privatisation.
Left activists have been trying since 1986, if not before, to establish a political fund which other education unions such as the NASUWT and UCU had agreed to years before.
The debate on the Iraq war and Palestine was highly charged as usual and an excellent resolution was passed finally forcing the National Executive to affiliate to the Stop the War Coalition and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
One major fringe meeting was on the and Palestine with the ex-diplomat Craig Murray speaking.
There was a sharp debate on the issue of climate change because supporters of the CDFU, the smaller of the two left currents in the union (the larger one being pidul chi
TUL 090 100,000 JOB LOSSES