Step Forward in Fees Fight

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The struggle against the proposed student fee increases was given a boost at the weekend.

Last Saturday over 200 students attended a conference called by Middlesex Poly and discussed ways of fighting these proposals.

An amended motion was passed which called for the initiation and coordination of nationwide occupations to begin by 21st February.

The existing NUS strategy confines the present struggle to a few token protests: a picket of the ILEA on March Ist; a "day of action" on March 2nd; and a national demonstration on March 9th.

The conference clearly indicated its support for such activities -but pointed out how hopelessly inadequate they were.

In fact it was pointed out that Again these sharp contrast policy. Trevor Executive spokı saving device cobbled together by the Broad Left leadership within NUS.

In contradistinction to this wooly strategy the conference called for initiation of nationwide occupations around the following demands:

(a) A rejection increases; (b) For a reduction of all fees to the level paid by home students in 1976/7 as the first step towards the abolition of all fees; (c) No discrimination in education - end the quota system; (d) For a rejection of all cuts and a sliding scale of public expenditure to maintain education services.

demands stood in to official SON Philips of NUS at great length on Gui вЖ Grants demonstration, 1974. a refusal to call for a rejection of all fees increases.

This refusal was based on the spurious grounds that the universities need the extra income from fees increases.

Since the government pays these increases for home students, Philips argued that we would • only be depriving the universities of much needed income if we called for a rejection of all increases!

In this way the NUS Executive merely drives a wedge between annanan nod

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LIST PRESS, Wednesday February, 5/293 er DRE LATRICT March in support of stri Strikes at the Randolph Hotel in Oxford and the Grosvenor House in Sheffield have now seen revealed the full weight of the deceit of Transport and General Workers Union leaders.

Three weeks after every relevant union layer had agreed to call a national black of Trust House Forte hotels - a move that would bring a quick end to both disputes - the strikers were told that the union has absolutely no intention of putting these demands into effect.

It took an unannounced visit to Transport House in London by a delegation of strikers to have their worst fears confirmed.

The national organiser told them bluntly. They would not call a national black because in the opinion of the union this would be "illegal"

Such is the desire of the union officials to avoid a clash with the law which could recall some of the major union battles against the management to show the 1 inion officials what contempt they held for the union.

They would not hold any talks in which district officials were involved. The "talks" which were the reason why action had to be witheld did not even reach the stage of discussing the shape of the table!

The unions reaction was to agree to come back and try to hold more talks - two weeks later - at a time when every day's delay was crucial.

Buckle's tune now changed. Other TGWU members were now "free" to take sympathy action. Again there was a clear refusal to call out any other workers or to take any action at all that would have real effect.

The whole angle of TGWU policy is now to reach a stage where they can claim that other workers "did not support" the strikers.

Strikers at both hotels - and at the Linton Lodge in Oxford where the fight has been on for one week longer than that at the Randolph, have condemned the decision of national officers to ignore the