Teachers to Take Action
Socialist Press1976 1976-07-14Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 11 →
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Pressure from the student teacher occupations and further announcements of massive cuts in education spending have finally forced the National Union of Teachers 'Action Committee' to speak out.
They have at last declared as official policy measures which are already being demanded and even carried out in many areas unotticially by members, in spite of the vicious disciplinary measures recently introduced by the union.
Max Morris, Chairman, is now saying "We decided to take the offensive"
This, after allowing cuts right, left and centre for the past year and more. The Oxford Divisional Secretary recently outlined in close detail the swi geing cuts he had already allow. d through, saying "enough is enor sh"
Indeed on the same weekend as the Action Committee made its announcement, twelve of the countnes biggest local authorities This means teacher unemploy. ment will certainly top 20,000 this yeat, while the NUT remained virtually inert, giving no lead to the wave of occupations by student teachers in recent months.
The Action Committee has now decided to extend the action taken by members in its chosen action areas to include: refusing to cover for absences of more than one day (previously • the condition was after three days); refusing to cover unfilled vacancies; and refusing to teach classes of more than 35 (30 in reception and infant classes).
POLICY
The fact that NUT policy since 1969 has been to refuse to teach any class over 30 shows how "extreme" this last measure is!
All these moves, however inadequate and belated, are to be welcomed and should be accompanied by enquiries into staffing and' pupil figures at individual schools to provide ammunition Max Morris - Stalinist chairman of the NUT Action Committee.
THE BATTLE FOR TROTSKYISM Two documents of the WRP opposition plus an Iccount of the expulsion:
prepared by the Executive Committee of the Workers Socialist League.
Available from WSL. 31.
Scan page 12
OCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday 14
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OUT NOW!