[NEW'S Most union conferences are noted for their…]

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NEW'S Most union conferences are noted for their clarion calls for a better life and good things for all.

The NATHE conference for teachers in further and higher education in Bournemouth was no exception. NALGO leader Drain "broad left' opposition built by the Stalinists is incapable of leading the members against the bureaucracy.

Revolutionaries and militants in NALGO must recognise that the joint opposition built since the Hamilton House conference last February has actually headed them off from implanting a clear programme.

Delegates dragged themselves. away from the beach, hotel swimming pools and 5-course meals to study an order-paper filled with good intent.

Few in number however were resolutions which made demands on the union to take action.

The final demonstration of this is the way that the 50 sponsoring branches were prohibited from strengthening the main resolution by moving amendments.

The task of building an independent proletarian opposition on a Trotskyist programme in NALGO can not be put off any longer.

Yet in the salary debate the Executive received some rebuff and a commitment was made to action.

Conference had again rejected incomes policy, which was safe enough; it had done so yet the wages settlement of 9.6% was comfortably within government norms, at the expense principally of those at the bottom of the salary scales.

Not content with the same "much regretted" sell-out this year, Conference resolved that an interim claim should be submitted (thus breaking the 12-month rule).

Amendments to accept incomes policy and productivity dealing were overwhelmingly rejected.

The Executive were not happy with this and were less happy with the resolution passed calling for industrial action to back up the demand for a merger of pay scales.

The main motion passed on wages demanded a return to real levels of income as of 1975.

Nobody made the point that only by a sliding scale of wages keeping pace with real inflation would this be achieved.

The resolution from outer London was couched so obscurely and made no reference to the need for wages to be permanently compensated against inflation as determined by workers' and housewives committees.

The second major issue of Conference was the anti-racialist debate. The main motion from East Anglia, Western and Outer London called for a campaign by the union against quota systems for overseas students, immigration controls and the use of college premises by racialist organisations.

Amendments from the National Executive and others aimed to weaken the motion by focussing always on the use of the courts to stop fascist activity by "strengthening of 1976 race relations act"-anything rather than for the union itself to act!

Only policies tackling the capitalist crisis which provide the breeding ground of fascism coupled with working class defence against fascist attack strengthen the working class and not the state.