NUT cals for token action

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The National Executive of the National Union of Teachers is asking its members throughout the country to undertake a programme of action in protest against the employers' 9% pay offer.

The employers claim that the government's 10% "guidelines" apply strictly to teachers.

They have said that annual increments and various "anomalies" such as catchingup rises for headmasters earning over £8,000 should come out of an overall 10% increase the bin.

This would reduce the real increase for the vast majority of teachers to 9%.

The NUT Executive, having put in an already grossly inadequate claim of only 12%, and having been prepared to accept 10% have now baulked at the thought of explaining to the membership at the Easter Annual Conference the acceptance of a mere 9% without a murmur.

"Productivity"

They have therefore seized LO. the "productivity" aspect of the government "guidelines" and are calling on members to protest against teaching is as, - 4 job and therefore cannot contain an element of productivity.

The "actions" the National Executive is asking members to take involve refusing to carry out voluntary duties in the lunchhour and after school.

This course of action leaves all responsibility for organisation in the schools themselves-and an ideal opportunity for the national leadership to blame the membership when the action falls through and they are "forced" to accept the 9%.

In Oxfordshire the local leadership has not. even gone this far. • Having just completed a sell-out of some 400 jobs after imposing sanctions for 18 months there, they have panicked at the thought of leading more action.

"Protest"

In order to "protest" against the National Executive's complete lack of organisation and their habit of making announcements to national press before informing union members, the Oxfordshire Executive resolved that it 'could not While it is that teachers urge the Oxon NUT members to follow the National Executive's recommendations' and have withdrawn from voluntary actions.

Their resolution has been -understandably-misinterpreted by the press as a direction to the members not to carry out any action.

This misinterpretation has been backed up by the Divisional Secretary Jack Stedman, announcing that 'the members have had enough of this sort of action' Not true of course true in Oxfordshire have experienced the divisive and demoralising effect of carrying out sanctions it is by no means true that they will not respond to determined national action over wages.

Willing

Had the national leadership campaigned for a wages claim which sought to catch up completely on the wages lost over the three years of wage control and to include a cost of living index to keep up with inflation, they would find that teachers throughout the country were anxious and willing to fight to support this claim.