of the crisis.
The NUS has been plagued by campaign by the maverick right-wing groups for the disaffiliation of colleges from the union. The framework of an alternative right-wing union — the British Students Association — has been set up by a city or London accountant, Leonardo Martini Brown, whose financial backing makes up for what it lacks in support from the colleges.
The Broad Left leadership on the executive has failed to counter campaign pontically and instead has extolled to the skies the virtues of the services offered by the NUS. The liquidation of the travel service means that the bottom has dropped out of this line of defence. Yet the first political action of the Broad Left after the announcements was to make a joint declaration with the Tories basing the fight for unity of the NUS on... the services that still remain!
The closures have meant the sacking of over 200 staff, a large number of them women unprotected by union organisation. The National Graphical Association, which organises all the 50 or so print workers, was not given any prior notice of the sackings according to Clarke. Not sackea, nowever, Is mike naylor, tzu, vu boss of the enterprise.
PROTEST The announcement comes three weeks before the national conference of the NUS. -Lelt minority memoers or une Executive protested that the decision should be the right of conference delegates. The last report on services presented to ine NUs conterence proposed the sacking of three workers. This section was referred back.
The two left minority members of the Executive, members of the National Organisation of IS Societies, issued a counter-statement to that of the NUS Executive majority calling for the nationalisation of -ine comoanies Also contamed mn une statement was a Union of Students president, last week. He was addressing himself to the most serious crisis in the history of the union — the liquidation of NUS Travel and other companies run by students. Clarke's apparent complacency reveals some of the political problems which lie at the root Tac nor revealed al me oress comerence Despite assurances from Clarke that both membership subscriptions and the still healthy Endsleigh Insurance would be safeguarded from future losses as the result of a 'set-off" agreement, the NUS has already lost £73,000 from the assets of the union and Endsleigh to the banks.
The NUS Travel service was founded in 1922. But it was only when the left in the union began to press for a campaigning union in the mid-1960s that the NUS was wrenched away from its dubious associanon with the International Student Con ference, a CIA-funded organisation.
BROAD LEFT The most succesful campaigns of the union were those conducted against Margaret Thatcher's proposals in 1971-72, which would have bound student unions to the state through the college authorities. But these campaigns were followed by a decision by the NUS leadership to develop the services side of the NUS, instead of ploughing all major resources into the promotion of political campaigns.
The wave of occupations against the unemployment of student teachers last summer took the NUS leadership by surprise, engaged as they were in the project of seeking alliances with the trade union bureaucracy - still committed body and soul to support of the Social Contract In this situation the growth of the right has been rapid. The Federation of Con servative Students won their first position on the Executive this year. This term their organisation has grown by 60 per cent The forthcoming conference of the with main-stream student Tories. Tories will be demanding political concessions from the Broad Left as the price of their "stand' against disaffiliation, in particular inal the service role or tne Nos is emphasised at the expense of camFCS for disaffiliations unified student movement. viability of such a union.
ACTION including:
fighting those policies.
the basis of state finance.
airlines and road services.
plan. CHARLES CLARKE (2nd Left) at the press conference announcing the closures. Now the full facts of the crash must be laid before delegates at the next NUS Conference. paigns. But there will be no holding back the insistent demands of the base of the The compromise of the Broad Left with the Tories will aid developments towards a right-wing take over of the NUS, and even start to threaten the existence of a The challenge to this bloc from the left of the union, including the base of the Broad Left, must be that political campaigns can unite the student movement.
The ownership of private service comp anies, subject to the massive pressures of union, emphasised once again by their joint statement with the FCS.
The way in which a programme of action can be fought for at the next conference is to unite all those forces or the left of the union on the basis of a campaign against the policies Any attempts by individuals or sections or ine lent to pur memseives forward as the alternative will lead to a disaster and GRAHAM THRELFALL The proposals to close the companies -DUHGAN Can GHANAN THRELFALL, members of the National Organisation of IS Societies and the far men minorty on the Nus executive. com pletely by surprise. The decision was a fait accompli, said Graham Threlfall. our anemois To car normanon DaToTE the meetings were blocked by Chris Morgan, the NUS Treasurer. I think they med staff unions and workers of the sackings.' Andy Durgan was of the opinion that the decision would give a big boost to the using Increased finances of the union to extend service! rather than build campaigns, the Broad Left have dug their own grave', he said. The right will argue that the problem is socialist mismanagement, and as long as the Broad Left stress services they will not have an answer.' But he also added that while the NUS will polarise as a result of the closures, the left will also grow in its determination to keep the NUS united around fighting politica Graham Threlfall discussed how the lett could be strenginened. Obviously we see NOISS as the alternative on the left. But there will be militants, perhaps at the base of the Broad Left. who while the won't relate immediately to NOISS will want to oppose the line of the Executive inat nas nad conse quences. We have to be able to unite these forces to combat the right wing.'
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1 am confident that there will be no conflict with delegates at our forthcoming national conference', declared Charles Clarke, National