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manner. ment" down the country, writes PAMELA HOLMES In the last year, college inter ference in the functioning of unions has become Sabbatical leave has been refused to elected officers.
Principals have maintained a tight grip on some unions Anti Nazi League posters Datoes canes meces and everything else you care to mention have been banned * Disciplinary procedures and * Facilities for mass general meetings have been denied.
The Department of Educa tion and Science and the Public Accounts Committee stepped sintothis situation in the autumn of 1977 to produce a discussion document aimed at changing whole basis of union PROPOSALS The central proposals of their new scheme turned out to be based on establishing a two-tier along the following There would be a maximum subscription fee of between £15 established on an annual basis by the interested parties and paid in the usual 2. Unions requiring a greater income than this would have to negotiate an additional amount (a subvention) from their local education authority 3A 'memorandum of agree should be established between the interested parties which specifies the right and proper concerns of a students The DES advises LEAs to •a minimum fee of £l.25 per full-time student and 50p per part-time student There is agreement within the NUS that these proposals are unacceptable. A request was therefore sent to the DES by NUS President Trevor Phillips asking for a year's delay to allow for full discussion.
CONFERENCE The DES have yet to reply, which means that the above proposdi THISHL be imple mented in the academic year 979-80. So arrangements are going ahead for an emergency conference of the union on December.
This is only five days before the ordinary national conference. But the unions which conference want to ensure a ful called for CHECTSCHO day's discussion on what reply to make to the DES, and the executive said that an extra day at the ordinary conference WASH DOSSIDe.
The DES are expected to reply in mid-November. It the vear's delay has been agreed to, then a number of colleges say that ther will withdraw their calls for an As one student pointed out: *Another year gives us time to organise' But if there is no delay, it is urgent to build united action from all sectors of the student movement with the support of the labour movement to make sure that the remains independent from the state
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THE ISSUE of autonomy has been a recurring one in the discussions of the National Union of Students and an everyday problem in a number of colleges up and