[In response to a unanimous resolution from the…]

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In response to a unanimous resolution from the Outer London Committee the NUT Executive on Saturday took the decision to consider backing teachers who refuse to cover the classes of colleagues absent for more than three days.

The Outer London decision, taken in early October, called upor the Executive to reintroduce these sanctions, which were used during the campaign for bigger London allowances last year, because they "don't see why teachers should accept increased work loads while other teachers are unemployed" • The decision of the Executive however is saddled with many con ditions in order to prevent any sort of unofficial action by individuals schools against the vicious cuts beginning to be implemented by the Local Authorities. The "refusal to cover" action can only be instigated by a special 'action' committee of the NUT and they must be satisfied that: (a) There are unemployed teacher: in that area. This is difficult to prove since unemployed-teachers take other jobs or are persuaded to 'sign on' for clerical jobs etc at the employment exchange. (b) The LEA is underemploying, and cutting back on staffing standards as budgetary policy -ie actually implementing the cuts already in the form of teachers jobs and not just savings on heating, equipment, auxiliary staff etc. Any fight against these Regular readers of Socialist Press will have seen the new development, in our last two editions, of a theoretical supplement, Trotskyism Today. The first three editions of this supplement are given over to the publication of our International Perspectives document to begin a discussion on key political questions. But we intend to develop Trotskyism Today as a more regular theoretical journal. This in turn will provide an important step towards expanding the paper, and weekly publication. To pro ceed further we need your support for our Monthly Development Fund.

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Send to: "Socialist Press', 31, Dartmouth Park Hill, London, NW5. 1HR. ruled out: (c) All attempts have been made locally to negotiate greater employment. (d) Two thirds of the NUT members in the school must vote for action - not just a simple majority.

Fred Jarvis,sNUT general secretary, says "Nobody's looking for a fight" - burying his head in the sand while, daily, reports come in. of Local Authorities' proposals to axe jobs, increase teacher-pupil ratios and end the chances of thousands of young children for a place in school before they are five.

Mean while preparations are getting under way in the areas to fight the spending cuts. In Tyneside and Liverpool NUT sub-comm ittees have been set up to organise unemployed teachers and in Bir- He went mingham a special NUT meeting set up an action committee which is organising a rally on December 13th against the cuts.

PORTUGAL cont from p 1. the forces of reaction. The CP maintains a member in a government which has lost the support of virtually every worker, including most of their own members.

The only way that Azevedo and the AFM can try to hold on to power now is to attempt to deal with these leaders - disguiser as a 're-shuffle' of the administra tion.

Workers in the SP and CP must force an end to this compromise and capitalation. The military government must be brought down. They must demand that the CP and SP leaders establish their own government, independent of the AFM and the pro capitalist parties, Such a government should launch immediately a programme of socialist reconstruction aimed at putting an end to the economic crisis and unemployment.

The leaders of the CP and SP, however, show little sign of fighting for such policies. Since the November 16th demonstration more and more workers have beer reported as asserting the need to go beyond them.

There must now be further joint action by the workers, soldiers, and tenants' committees that called the massive Lisbon The urgent need is the settingup of a soviet, based on these committees, representing the whole working class in the Lisbon area. The basis exists for such a soviet.

A Lisbon soviet would be the basis, through its affiliated soldiers' committees, for establishing workers' defence squads for protection against the threats of Soares and the thugs of the right wing It could begin to discuss a socialist plan for production, and discuss the extension of soviets throughout Portugal and develop a perspective for workers' govem

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by the NUT leadership is here f500 monthly developme fund