Crosbie still sacked NUT no action
Socialist Press1980 1980-07-09Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 11 →
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Eileen Crosbie, the Nottinghamshire nursery teacher who took a stand against the cuts in January by refusing to teach a class of 40 nursery children with only one assistant is still Suspended for the Spring term she was eventually sacked by the Nottingham Education Committee on April 22 for "breach of conduct of such a serious nature" that sacking was considered necessary.
What was this breach of conduct? It was refusing to carry out the instruction of her headmaster. In other words the head teacher is the dictator and all staff must exercise immediate obedience!
Did this extreme attack on the rights of teachers produce an immediate strong_response from the National Union of Teachers? Was there a call for immediate all out strike action -after hundreds of teachers had already responded very favourably to a strike ballot?
No! NUT action has been restricted to one-day no-cover action in the seconday schools (an action immediately defused by the Authority providing supply teachers) and class size action in primary schools which prompted the lock out of 40 teachers and a headteacher who refused to suspend his staff.
The NUT caved in under these suspensions and called off the action-even though several other schools wished to carry on.
Meanwhile the NUT members at Eileen Crosbie's own school, the Robert Mellors School, in Arnold, walked out on strike and have been out for 10 weeks, picketing the school every morning.
Their jobs-like Eileen Crosbie's own job-are being done by scab non-union supply teachers and members of the scab organisation PAT (Professional Assocation of Teachers), including one ex-teacher who has come out of retirement to help Notts County Council smash the strike.
Rolling (The one NAS teacher in the school wanted to join the strike but was told to work 'normally' by the NAS).
The NUT then organised Tolling strikes' -bringing à succession of schools out on strike for three days-until 35 schools were striking before the Whitsun half term holiday.
Many of these teachers joined the picket of Robert Mellors school and while most NUPE and NALGO members continue to cross the picket, despite union advice, succeeded in turning away the milk delivery worker and the NUPE grass cutter.
Then the LEA offered talks and immediately the NUT called off all action except Robert Mellors strike.
Petition
Many motions both locally and nationally have been passed calling for indefinite strike action supported by a national levy and 216 teachers from Nottingham schools have put their signatures to a petition declaring their wish to be allowed to strike indefinitely until Eileen Crosbie is reinstated.
The latest ballot has produced a 2-1 vote for strike action.
The NUT National Executive must call this support out immediately next term begins if the present talks do not result in complete climbdown by the LEA.
Far more than nursery class size-important though this issue is-is at stake here. The rights of teachers to take trade union action-refusing to teach oversize classes, refusing to cover for absent colleagues and a host of other work to rule sanctions are under threat:
If the NUT Executive caves in in the face of this attack it has abandoned any pretence of a fight against the cuts and in defence of teachers' conditions and pay.