Education unions

National Union of Teachers (NUT), Association of University Teachers (AUT), National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE) and other education unions

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Protest against deportation of Nottingham University activist

About 400 students and academics protested today, May 28th at Nottingham University against the attempts currently under way to deport Hicham Yezza, a former university student now employed on the campus. See photos of the demo from this link . The size of the protest no doubt represented the popularity of Hich and the real knowledge of the injustice of the arrest of Hich along with his friend Rizwaan Saber under the Prevention of Terrorism Act that preceded the deportation moves. Those attending the rally listened in intermittent heavy rain whilst extracts of the document that Hich downloaded...

Classroom Solidarity - Education worker bulletin

ClassroomSolidarity is produced by teachers, teaching assistants and other education workers in the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty, an organisation fighting as part of the labour movement for a socialist alternative to both capitalism and Stalinism, based on common ownership and democracy. In contrast to New Labour and the Tories we believe that education should challenge, inspire and liberate minds young and old. This means scrapping intensive testing and monitoring, narrow curricula and selection. We want one democratic, fighting union for all education workers. We oppose racism, sexism...

Action in the autumn

The National Union of Teachers Executive met on 8 May for the first time since the 24 April pay strike. For a while it looked like there would be no discussion or vote on proposals to develop the pay campaign. Although the union’s Co-ordination and Finance Committee (CFC) had met the previous day and agreed some activities for the term ahead their report will not be discussed until the next Executive meeting two weeks later. In the event supporters of the left caucus on the Executive put a motion on pay to ensure that some commitments were made. The motion, unanimously carried, agreed: 1. to...

Public sector activists call for action after 24 April

Civil service by Workers’ Liberty PCS Members A number of Groups (sectors) in PCS are striking on 24 April alongside the teachers and lecturers. Our strike will make the news and will undoubtedly worry the powers that be; how much better if the whole of the PCS union was on strike. Of course it does not stop there. Where are Unison, GMB, Unite etc? Gordon Brown has a united and consistent policy towards public sector pay and employment, yet the union movement does not. At PCS national conference, which will happen shortly, AWL members have put forward motions calling on all the union to fight...

24 April in London

The picket line at the Shelter office on Old St, London, was good. On the workers' third day of strike action - after a long pause, a lot of pressure from management, and a lot of foot-dragging or worse from full-time union officials - picket numbers were still buoyant, and the mood was defiant. Old Street is the base for Shelter's top management, and employs a lot of agency workers, so some people did go into work. But, during the time I was on the picket line, only similar numbers to those on the 5 and 10 March strikes. I hear that there was some weakening of the strike in other areas. That...

French teachers threaten action

As British teachers are mobilising for a historic strike, their French counterparts are engaged in a bitter struggle of their own, in the face of a ferocious government attack and a scandalously timid union leadership. The Sarkozy government recently produced the Pochard Report, which represents an acceleration of the neo-liberal educational reforms of the past decade. It recommends greater autonomy to local educational authorities to hire, fire and re-allocate staff; individual contracts between teachers and the local authority, rather than collective statutes upheld by central government...

NUT left abstain on homophobia

For the first time in its history, the annual conference of the National Union of Teachers debated a motion submitted by LGBT teachers from their own conference. The motion, entitled “International Homophobia and Transphobia” condemned the current levels of anti-LGBT bigotry in Britain and the rising tide of militant right-wing attacks on LGBT people and Pride demonstrations around the world. Poland, Russia, Israel and Iran were among the places singled out for mention. Tim Lucas and Claire Jenkins from the NUT LGBT Working Party proposed and seconded the motion and a number of delegates...

UCU Left discuss way forward

On 29 March the University and Colleges Union Left met in London. Around 60 lecturers discussed the way forward for the left in the union. The UCU Left is now heavily dominated by the SWP. Despite its claim to be a rank and file group it is, in reality, much more a caucus of members of the UCU’s national committees. 10 of the 15 members of steering committee elected at the conference are members of the union’s leading bodies. A proposal from AWL supporters that the steering committee should be based on activists in branches was heavily defeated at the conference. The good news is that the UCU...

NUT left should be bolder

The 2008 National Union of Teachers (NUT) conference was unlike any other in the recent past. The difference? For almost a year NUT activists have been preparing the ground for the first national strike in over two decades. The attack on teachers pay and the unions' industrial response to it shaped the opening days and determined the mood of the rest of conference. By the time of conference the ballot had already opened, but results were not due for another week (in the end 75% voted for action on a 32% turnout). The Executive put a priority motion on pay outlining a commitment to continue the...

Pay revolt on 24 April

On 1 April the NUT National Executive received the results of the ballot for a one day strike to protest at the continuing cuts in teachers’ real pay. When the result was known there was no hesitation in agreeing to call the action on 24 April. Indeed the vote to proceed with a strike was unanimous. We now need to ensure that the first national teachers’ strike for 21 years is as successful as possible. All NUT members in all schools are asked to take part in the action. Every NUT member is now protected by this ballot and is fully entitled to take part. Unions representing other teachers and...

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