Officials Attack Hewnam
Socialist Press1976 1976-11-03Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 10 →
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-g: No. 10 4035903 Fords Halewood Works.
03173 Evans now talks of 'fringe benefits' , yet ne knows that Harry Urwin, deputy to Jones, told the Labour Party conference that the T&GWU would not press for fringe benefits like the seamen.
Ford workers should reject Evans' talk. With prices rising as they now are, it is not a matter of looking for fringe benefits which may be allowable under the social contract, but to reject the social contract and demand a substantial pay rise linked to a cost of living clause giving further increases to match the full effects of inflation as assessed by elected trade union committees.
At the last annual conference of the National Union of Teachers a leaflet distributed by the Workers Socialist League warned that new disciplinary measures would be used by the Executive against teachers fighting for jobs and decent educational facilities.
The correctness of this view is now being confirmed in Newham.
After teachers at the Little Ilford School had agreed not to take the lessons of colleagues absent for more than three days, as a protest against rising teacher unemployment, an NUT member was presented with a letter informing "breach of contract" and threatening that action would be taken.
Support was given to the victimised teacher in the form of unofficial strike action on the 4th October. Since that time attempts have been made to win wider support outside the school.
In the face of this attack the response of the union leadership has been one of cynical betrayal.
TRADE UNiON MEMBERS Fred Jarvis, NUT General Secretary They have threatened disciplinary action through the union to supplement that being offered by the Education Authority.
Thirty five teachers have been suspended for refusing to sign slips disassociating themselves from 'unofficial action' and the NUT bureaucrats, who through their policies have made sure that the only action taken in defence of jobs will be unofficial have simply lined up with the Authority in pressing this attack home.
On no occasion did they even make the gesture of sending one of their minions to the school in question to take a look at the situation.
They had decided their position in advance.
The way in which attacks on democracy in the teachers' union have paved the way for the sabotage of even the most minimal struggle has never been illustrated more cleariy.
The question of removing this leadership as the precondition for any successful struggle against unemployment now acquires a burning importance.
THE OOLE IGHT .TU J01K. SuB PROTECTION