New attack on Scottish teachers

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1. 40. FT mil suppori whre 9 NUJ memb. onaire. "socialist' e should be sent to P ers have ›een on mployer Robert ergamor Chapel, A Tory sponsored amendment to the Education (Scotland) No. 2 Bill now before Parliament will pave the way for implementation of large scale redundancies in the Scottish teaching force.

The aim of the amendment is the removal of Section 88 from the Education Act which states that a teacher cannot be made redundant without the agreement of two-thirds of the local education committee.

Published by Folrose Lid for the Workers Socialist League BM Box 5277. London WC1N 3XX. Printed by East End Offset Ltd., London E2. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Workers Socialist League. PRESS • DICEED MOLDY' WON'T RESTATE THE EIGHT!

This traditional safeguard remains essential to teachers' interests because, as John Pollock, General Secretary of the - Scottish teachers' union the EIS has pointed out, a teacher who faced dismissal by one authority is unlikely to be employed by another and therefore finds his or her livelihood as a teacher destroyed.

The Tories argue that there are now adequate safeguards provided through industrial tribunals-but they are well aware that this is so much eyewash.

The aim is to sack teachers and to clear away any obstacles in the path of that process.

At the same time it will be a gift to those authorities who want to get rid of teachers because of their politics or their forthright defence of their wages and conditions.

Threatening Already threatening noises have been made as to the termination of employment of teachers engaged on fixed-term contracts.

This • undoubtedly endangers the jobs of thousands of Scottish teachers, Name..

Address.

× 5277, d especially and immediately those in the primary sector, many of whom have been engaged over the past two years on such contracts which enable the authorities to get rid of them at short notice, by refusing to reengage them for the following year.

Talks have already begun on the future of a thousand such teaching jobs in Strathclyde and the signs are ominous in other regions also.

Clearly the authorities will not stop there but will proceed thence to the decimation of jobs of teachers who have permanent contracts.

Attrition

What must be the strategy to defend teachers' jobs? Industrial action on a national scale is essential but the maintenance of such action for a prolonged period presents problems.

The authorities are embarking on a war of attrition over a number of years and an adequate strategy to repel this attack must be formulated.

Included in that must be a stronger 'no cover' policy, a refusal to take the classes of any dismissed fixed-term contract teachers and a determination that, if the authorities refuse to cut class sizes, then teachers will do so themselves unilaterally from August 1982 onwards.

The presence of motions along these lines on the agenda for the EIS Annual Conference in June is an indication that many teachers see the necessity to begin now to resist the employers' attacks as the only way to defend both their job and educational standards.

An estimated fall of 37% in school rolls in Strathclyde in the next ten years provides the opportunity to cut class sizes, improve staffing and raise the quality of education.

The Tory government and some local councillors, including Labour councillors think differently.

They are out to use falling rolls as their excuse to implement more education cuts.

Teachers will need to seek the support and assistance of parents and the organised trade union and labour movement it they are to thwart these moves.

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