Stalinists Aid Nut Carve-up

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The annual conference of the National Union of Teachers. is possibly one of the less likely places to find the politics of the Communist Party dominant.

Recent events inside the NUT, notably the witchhunt of the left in Lambeth (which was at crucial points spearheaded by the CP) have however made the role of the Stalinists as the major prop of the right wing totally central to this year's conference at Eastbourne.

The first day of the conference began with the Morning Star boasting an exclusive article by NUT President Jack Chambers. And it then proceeded with the same Chambers orchestrating the carve-up of union democracy and the assault on the left, amidst mounting anger from delegates.

The flashpoint was an emergency motion from the Executive. The motion read:

«Conference welcomes the determination of the officers of the union to protect the membership against the actions of those who show contempt for the union's rules and procedures and who undermine the The 442 motions on the agenda of the TGWU 29th Biennial Delegate Conference (Brighton, policies and objectives of the union as agreed by annuat conference.

This was a thinly-veiled declaration of war on the left in the NUT. In fact it is the NUT Executive who have shown contempt for union policy throughout the last year.

They have refused to organise any action whatever against the cuts. It is precisely to prevent a backlash developing in the union against their own backsliding that the NUT leaders mounted the witch-hunt in Lambeth.

In moving the suspension of standing orders to take the motion, Des Winters for the Executive said the officers needed to know they have the support of the membership.

In fact what they want is a licence for a pogrom of the left.

Chambers ruled from the chair that no speaker could be taken against the motion for suspending standing orders, since no speakers' cards had been received.

When this was challenged from the floor by members of the Croydon association who had put in a speakers' card Chambers claimed that it had been 'lost' and was therefore not valid!

Worse to come

If this made delegates wonder about democracy in the NUT, worse was to come.

When the suspension of standing orders was put to the vote there was a clear split vote-with nowhere near the necessary two-thirds majority. - Chambers, however, ruled the motion "carried"

Amidst uproar, delegates immediately rose for the card vote. Challenged from the floor by Rother Valley over the absence of a two-thirds majority, Chambers then ruled that there would be no card vote, that the motion was declared carried and would be put on Monday.

Out of order

He then proceeded to rule out of order an emergency motion from the Lambeth association supporting the disciplined ILTA 8 and urging support for the reinstatement of the victimised Lambeth branch officers.

Chambers claimed that conference could not overturn disciplinary committee hearings.

When challenged from the floor that conference was the highest body of the union, making the union's policy, he ruled the speaker out of order, and bureaucratically moved next busi ness.

This type of bureaucratic carve-up by the union leadership-aided and abetted by the CP-flies clearly in the face of the movement to the left within the NUT at local level.

This movement was shown in the voting on disarmament where the NUT rejected the urgings of the Executive, and for the first time came out against the bomb and in favour of disarmament.

Again, however, the right wing and the CP conspired to prevent any of the amendments from the left (calling for affiliation to CND) from being taken.

The NUT leadership are clearly determined to use their control of action under Rule 8 and their powers to interpret the rules in order Of the 33 motions on pay policy, 16 call for free collective bargaining and two for a prices and incomes policy. Three motions call for cost of living clauses.only half as many as iwo wages.

NUT members must retaliate by taking up now the fight for union democracy, breaking the stranglehold of Rule 8, and opening the way for action in defence of jobs and services.

Immediately, support must be built for the Haringey initiative in calling a conference on union democracy and the fight against the cuts.

This must be used to build an alternative leadership in NUT which can defeat the witch-hunters who refuse to fight the Tories.

BACKING BENN THE Yorkshire NUM have moved an amendment to a Derbyshire conference resolution on the election of the Labour Party leadership.

Their amendment calls on the NUM to fight to uphold January's Wembley Conference decision on the method of elections and to support Benn against Healey.

The agenda contains its usual list of motions on import controls, which of course have the full support of the leadership: But there is not a single motion on women's rights, equal pay or Parents, children and supporters from Beal St. Play Centre lobbied County Hall last Wednesday in their battle to keep the play centre open.

Then we crowded into the committee room to hear the case discussed by the Social Services Committee.

Brian Rice, director of Social Services, presented the case for a self-help scheme and warned that if parents did not agree to this they would take legal action to evict the occupiers.

The two Labour counclors argued for it to stay on as before with two qualified staff but this was voted down by the Tory majority on the committee.

The parents who attended the meeting seem to be unanimous in the view that attending the meeting had been very instructive in how decisions were made.

Statements by the majority underlined their philosophy:

"We do far too much for these people. Let them do it for themselves and then in six months time they'll look back with pride at what they've achieved."

The following day, no doubt to further the campaign for self-help, the director arranged with the Leicester Mercury to send parents to visit a self-help nursery to see how it is done and selected the Phoenix Nursery in Nottingham.

A year ago this Social Services nursery also faced closure by a Tory council and after parents mounted a huge campaign were offered the building and £8,000 to run it themselves.

Beal Street occupiers include members of Leicester Nursery Campaign who had previously forged strong links with Nottingham and who had together with Oxford and Wandsworth produced the booklet "Nurseries: How and Why to Fight for Them" which has proved invaluable for the smooth running of the Beal St. occupation.

Link maintained

This link has been continued through the National Child Care Campaign. So the Mercury didn't quite get the story they'd expected. The parents/staff at the Phoenix made it clear that self help was only temporary measure until the local elec-