as the united left candidate for Treasurer of the N. U. T. Q. There are 45, 000 teachers unemployed at present. What action do you think should be taken to remedy this situation?
A. The key question relating to unemployment is class teachers would be particularly ready to respond to a call for action against oversize classes because they know all pupils would benefit from such a move.
The union leaders should be forced to instruct members to refuse to teach any class over 30 la target which, in itself, would employing an additional 55,000 teachers) andto make itclear to the employers that, if necessary, would give full support strike pay - to any members suspended for so doing.
Q. NUT leaders have recently put in a wage claim for 36. 5%. should be the attitude of the left? A. To restore teachers' salaries to their 1975 value would - as the NUT leaders claim - require an average increase of about. 35%. leaders pin their faith in treated as 'special case', however, as we were at the time of Interview with DAVE PICTON, ex-editor of Socialist Teacher, who ran Houghton. What they refuse to recognise is that the Houghton award was a response to several years of militancy among teachers on wages, and have done their best to destroy that militancy over the years by destroying the autonomy of thelocal branches.
There is no doubt that claim, which is far in excess of the government's 5% norm, supported by wide layers in union and that the leaders will be require ander some pressure to take action in its support. The by other public sector workers will it undoubtedly act as a stimulant to - including many teachers who have seen their wages eroded over the last few yeals.
The task of the left in the union will What be to make that pressure as great as possible and to try and win the widest support against any backdowns. Fighting at the for a cost of living clause inbuilt The NUT into any settlement could help to being offset inflation and wages are not eroded as occured after the Houghton award. this year.
and that they themselves, the NUT will be the recent achons decisions, same time areas.
ensure that of women in the union?
Fences.
Dave Picton Q. How important do you think the recent debate on racism in the union has been and what has been the reaction of the NUT leaders?
The NUT leaders have sought to restrict this debate to matters of school curriculum and organisation While important, they have refused however to back any demonstrations against racism, to oppose racist immigration Acts or to make NF membership incompatible with central. membership of the union.
One of the tasks of the left must be to make the union's conference which are anti-racist or believe, paper, a practical reality by pioneering mobilisations against racism. The left has made a start here and the Executive's decision banning clear, branches from affiliating to the ANI has been hotly contested in many Q. Has the left pioneered the role played a major role in raisingmany issues relating to the status of women in education, and in society generally. The fight on abortion and the right of women to choose, has been a major issue which has been hotly debated at the last few conferThe leadership, of course, frightened of the union taking positions on broader social issues, have opposed supporting this question and affiliating to NAC Q. What should the STA be concentrating on in the period ahead? A.On numerous issues, S. T A. members are now beginning to see the need to mobilise much wider layers of teachers in struggles that are of immediate concern to them. Wages, class size, opposition to closures, and the issues of racism and women's rights are, I think, I think the STA should focus its activity around these concrete questions in the coming year and, I the political climate is changing in a way that will allow a strong response from teachers to demands that are formulated in a coherent way.
Mobilising support on these issues should begin to lay the basis for a solid class-struggle opposition in the union to oppose the present leaders of the NUT and TUC.
March 79 what we stand for