NUT grassroots get organised as leadership moves to block pensions fightback

Submitted by Matthew on 11 April, 2012 - 10:17

At the National Union of Teachers conference, in Torquay between 6 and 10 April, activists finally began to get organised to fight for rank-and-file control in the fight over pensions. The behaviour of the NUT leadership at the conference, and the official "left" that supports it, showed how much such a rank-and-file movement is needed.

On the opening Friday night of the conference, NUT associations (branches) from across the country organised a fringe meeting to discuss the way forward for getting further national action, under the "Local Associations for Action on Pensions" banner. It was attended by over a hundred delegates. After a lot of discussion, the meeting agreed an amendment to the leadership's motions on pensions with a clear strategy for fighting to win.

Here is how the Workers' Liberty teachers bulletin issued after the debate describes what happened on the Saturday:

"The outcome of yesterday’s debate is not just ‘unfortunate’ or ‘disappointing’.

"The consequences for members of the Union may be difficult to salvage in the short term whilst the executive ponders its long game and seeks in vain to find some life in the NASUWT. Coming in to this Conference we were already close to an historic defeat on pensions and the vague words and shameful manoeuvrings evident in Conference have not removed that danger...

"On Friday night a hastily convened meeting attended by over one hundred delegates and representing a significant number of local associations and divisions drafted what became amendment 3 in the debate.

"A mixture of disorientation, political and industrial timidity on the part of the leading members of the CDFU and STA [Campaign for a Democratic Fighting Union and Socialist Teachers' Alliance, the traditional left groupings in the union that between them have a majority on the national executive] meant that this amendment was not vocally and practically supported by the majority of what passes for the NUT left.

"The SWP, who were present at the local associations meeting had the opportunity to influence the content of the amendment. They cannot have failed to notice that the meeting was composed largely of politically unaligned discontented rank and file members. But the SWP chose to put their party interests before the interests of winning a serious action strategy on the floor of Conference. Their amendment 1, motivated exclusively by SWP members was recognised by many as the sectional view of a political party.

"The real debate began in earnest when the President inexplicably gutted amendment 3 of its action content [claiming that this had already been coveredi n the vote on the SWP's amendment 1]. For a minute we were back in the 80’s -positions were sharply presented and it was evident in the furore that amendment 3 may well have passed un-castrated had it been agreed as the first amendment by CBC. Instead, members of the SWP, the STA and the Broad Left formed an unholy alliance on CBC to relegate the amendment to a position where they hoped it would be talked out.

"It didn’t quite work out as they planned but, despite efforts from the floor of Conference to question and challenge the bizarre decisions of the president, delegates were left with a distinctly suspect taste in their mouths at the conclusion of the debate. More than one delegate has spoken of a “stitch-up” to prevent the detailed, fighting strategy expressed in amendment 3 from being fully and fairly debated."

On Monday 9 April, the "Associations for Action" met again, this time attracting over 150 delegates, from a very wide range of associations. The discussion covered not only on what had gone wrong on conference floor, but also debated what viable strategies there are for the coming weeks and months. This debate is a healthy breath of fresh air in the union, and whilst there was some disagreement on strategy those who attended were united on the need for further days of national action.

Members of Workers’ Liberty argued for the need to combine national strike action with a series of fast-moving, rolling local strikes. This strategy is about making sure action is maintained, rather than de-escalated, in between national strikes. Not a week should pass between national strike days without some form of continual disruption in some part of the country.

This is a major positive development within a union where the organised left groupings — the CDFU and STA — have become very cosy, and therefore very complacent, within the official structures.

Since the conference, SWP teachers have admitted that they “missed a trick” by failing to get behind the self-organised, rank-and-file initiative, instead pushing their own, softer amendment, and have indicated that they will be getting involved.

The initiative taken by Associations for Action could open up opportunities for building an extensive network of union activists and representatives, as well as divisions and associations, that can push for and coordinate action on pensions and other issues. It could well be the beginning of an effort to build and mobilise the rank-and-file of the union into a living, breathing force.

Local Associations for Action on Pensions has called a follow-up conference on Saturday 16 June in Liverpool to discuss furthering the pensions campaign. Workers’ Liberty will be arguing for the conference to also take up the issues of workload and pay.

We encourage divisions and associations to support the conference, send representative delegations and encourage other rank-and-file union members to attend the conference as observers.

***

Fight for national action!

Many delegates will leave this year’s National Union of Teachers conference angry at the way the debate on pensions was handled, dismayed at its outcome, and confused as to what they should now be telling members in their workplace.

They are right to be all of these things. But all hope is not lost.

Conference passed a motion on pensions amended to instruct the Executive to organise regional strikes and to “aim” towards a national strike by the end of June.

Regional meetings of division secretaries were held after close of conference on Monday 9 April, and were largely tightly controlled by regional secretaries. In almost all regions, division secretaries were informed that they would be surveyed, and asked to provide data on membership density and the number of schools they think will close given further strikes.

One division secretary at the Yorkshire/Midlands meeting raised serious questions about how quickly a decision based on this data will be made if we are to have a regional strike in the week beginning 7 May. Many union activists will need convincing that regional or local action, without a clearly defined follow-up of national action, is even desirable.

AWL teachers want to see the NUT Executive name a whole calendar of joined-up actions, including both regional and national strikes.

Along with others in the newly-formed Associations for Action network, we want to see the NUT participate in any strike on 10 May — now a real possibility following the decision of Unite’s health sector to aim for action on that day.

“The response has been overwhelming”

We were expecting a manoeuvre to prevent a serious amendment being passed, but the way it was applied was disgraceful.
In fact I take it as a compliment that they reacted the way they did; they must have been scared. The response from delegates, particularly women delegates, has been overwhelming.
They said I was giving them a voice.

Julie Lyon Taylor, Liverpool NUT and NUT Executive (pc)

I became involved in the Local Associations for Action on Pensions initiative because I couldn’t go back to my association and say that we’re not going for national action.
I am here to represent members, and members mandated me to vote yes for national action. Over 50% of our members are the worst effect by the pensions changes.
This has got to come from the grass roots, and the fantastic fringe meeting on Friday night is a good start.

Sue McMahon, Calderdale NUT (pc)

Comments

Submitted by martin on Sat, 14/04/2012 - 21:32

The text is long, but the active gist is brief. Tergiversatio longa, summa brevis, as it might be put if schools still taught Latin.

  • "further industrial action on pensions should be considered"
  • "establish a programme of targeted local or regional strikes in the summer term"
  • "aim of organising a further one day national strike before the end of June 2012".

Thus it really doesn't pin the Exec down to anything.


Conference condemns the Government's attacks on the pensions of teachers and public sector workers and its broader attacks on our living standards. Conference commits the Union to resist measures which seek to make teachers and other public sector workers pay for the economic crisis.

Conference recognises that we have to mobilise our members to resist the threat to pensions as part of the broader determined attack by this Government on public sector workers and the services they work in, including the pay freeze, the move to introduce local pay, cuts to public services and the continuing undermining of teachers' professionalism.

Conference congratulates NUT members for the outstanding role that they have played in the fight to defend teacher pensions, public sector pensions and State pensions and the campaign for Fair Pensions for All, particularly through the national strikes on 30 June and 30 November and the London strike of 28 March and for their response to all of our other lobbying and campaigning activities.

Conference endorses the decision by the National Executive in March to reject the Government's "final" proposal on teachers' pensions.

Conference believes that the strike action taken by the Union and others on 30 June and again on 30 November, which galvanised the trade union movement and won concessions from Government, has shown that our campaign can succeed.

Conference affirms that the concessions made so far are insufficient to justify ending the Union's campaign. More must be done to protect teachers' pensions and to secure decent pensions for all workers. Teachers cannot be expected to work until they are 68 or beyond; nor should they have to work longer and pay more to get less.

Conference welcomes the decisions of other unions which have not accepted the Government's pension proposals, including NASUWT, UCU, NAHT, ASCL, EIS, SSTA, UCAC and INTO in teaching and PCS, Unite, BMA and NIPSA in other public sector schemes. Conference welcomes the NUT's leadership role in ongoing efforts to co-ordinate continuing joint campaigning by all those unions which have not signed up to the Government's deal. Conference expresses its support for creating the maximum unity in action of all TUC affiliates towards the attacks that are taking place against public sector pensions, the state pension and the attacks on public services such as those on Education and the NHS.

Conference calls on the National Executive to continue to seek unity with the other teacher unions, in particular, to secure further progress on pensions, including through further joint strike action. Conference notes that NUT member opinion surveys throughout 2011 and 2012 have consistently shown that NUT members believe that persuading the teacher unions to stand together is of vital importance and that support for joint action has always been far greater. However, while recognising the clear benefits of joint action by teacher unions, Conference resolves that we cannot make the willingness of the NASUWT to take part as a necessary requirement before proceeding to call further strike action as part of our ongoing pensions campaign.

Conference instructs the Executive to:

Maintain the NUT's opposition to Government attempts to make us pay more, work longer and receive less;

Maintain our principled and determined campaign to protect teachers’ pensions;

Work to secure the widest possible alliance of trade unions and others to continue the fight for pensions including "fair pensions for all";

Continue to work with those other unions which have not signed up to the Government's proposals and seek to persuade other unions to the joint campaign.

Further, Conference instructs the Executive to:

Speedily conclude the review it is undertaking with Division Secretaries, in the light of the London action of 28 March 2012, on bringing all other regions and Wales, in turn or together, into pensions action and to act on it. Conference congratulates members, school representatives and local officers for their efforts in building a significant turnout for the London regional strike and demonstration on 28 March, a response which demonstrated a continued willingness to oppose the Government's unacceptable threats to teachers' pensions

Submit a motion to TUC Congress to develop the maximum unity in action against the attacks on Pensions and against any measure to introduce local pay and conditions.

Seek to build a coalition of unions committed to further strike action in the summer term and beyond to defeat the Government's proposals;

Discuss with those unions all possible forms of joint strike and non-strike action, including national, regional and selective strike action, and campaigning activities such as joint national and local demonstrations and public meetings;

Urgently approach the other unions who have not accepted the government's final proposals to seek support for this plan of action as the basis of an agreed plan of co-ordinated action next term, and to urgently announce the confirmed calendar of action to our members and to the press.

Formulate precise demands in order to win our dispute with Government, particularly around removing or reducing the damaging effect on teachers' incomes of both the contribution increases and the raising of normal pensions ages.

Seek immediate talks with all the teacher unions on campaigning jointly on teachers' pensions and other attacks on the teaching profession, through strike action and other means of opposing the Government; and

Write to all members to explain the decision of Conference and to explain the Union's view that, at this time of increasing attacks on teachers, it is now crucial that the teacher unions begin to work together much more strongly - and to outline the NUT's support for the maximum unity in the co-ordination of campaigning whilst working towards a merger to create one union for all teachers.

Conference congratulates NUT members in London for their responses to the strike call on March 28th and for the excellent march to, and demonstration at, Michael Gove's office.

In the light of the March 28th strike, Conference believes that further industrial action on pensions should be considered and that we should seek to co-ordinate such action with as many teaching, and non-teaching, unions as possible.

Conference believes that the focus of such action should be a demand that the government:

(a) carry out a valuation of the Teacher Pension Scheme;

(b) re-open negotiations particularly around the retirement age and increased contribution rates.

Conference therefore instructs the Executive to:

(i) establish a programme of targeted local or regional strikes in the summer term, based on the survey and consultation with divisions and regional offices;

(ii) work with divisions and associations with the aim of organising a further one day national strike before the end of June 2012;

(iii) approach other unions, especially teaching unions which have not signed up to the Heads of Agreement, with a view to achieving the maximum possible co-ordination of any such strike action and joint campaigning;

(iv) consider if sustentation would be appropriate and if so what levels of sustentation would enable us to continue a programme of targeted local actions into the autumn term;

(v) consider if the campaign of action on pensions can be linked with a campaign on pay in the autumn term and if so what measures might need to be taken.

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