The conference of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) section of the National Education Union (NEU) (Brighton, 30 March to 3 April) called for a 5% pay rise.
It said the union should ballot all members for strikes in the 2018/19 school year if we don’t get that.
The initial motion on pay from the Executive called only for a ballot “if internal polling suggests that there would be sufficient support”. Conference passed an amendment from Coventry which linked in the issue of workload and made the commitment to a ballot clear.
However, the motion only commits the executive to put forward the strategy to the Joint Executive Council of NUT and ATL, in office during the merger to form the NEU. ATL conference is on 9-11 April.
This year the union has failed to hold even a consultative ballot over boycotting SAT tests in primary schools, despite a resolution at last year’s conference.
In Brighton, activists from the Socialist Teachers’ Alliance, now de facto the established pro-leadership faction in the union, again made tub-thumping speeches against primary testing but backed a motion that would only commit the union to carry out “an indicative survey” on action.
That motion ruled out important parts of another which actually committed the union to a boycott of high-stakes, summative primary testing, and Workers’ Liberty and ESN activists convinced around 40% of conference to vote against the softer motion.
Conference took an emergency motion on OFSTED’s statements that it would speak to young girls about why they wore the hijab in schools. An amendment condemned the proposed “Punish a Muslim day” on Tuesday 3 April and expressed solidarity with Muslims and communities affected.
Workers’ Liberty activists voted for the amendment and abstained on the main motion. We believe that OFSTED inspectors have no business asking young girls why they are wearing the clothes they are wearing. We disagree with the motion’s assertion that primary-aged girls are exercising a free choice when it comes to wearing the hijab. Union president Kiri Tunks did not acknowledge our abstention and called the vote as being unanimously in favour.
The mood of conference was often one of cheering consensus. There was a moment of rank-and-file-led revolt at the end of conference when Sheffield delegates initiated a motion to suspend standing orders, gathering the necessary 200 delegate signatures overnight, over the date of next year’s full NEU conference.
The President had announced, without prior consultation, that next year’s conference would be four days, rather than five, and held during term time for several divisions.
Workers’ Liberty activists also distributed a leaflet criticising the £48,000 the union has spent in the past two years on subsidising trips to Cuba, allowing the regime to claim it has the support of foreign trade unionists. The Cuban regime refuses to allow free and independent trade unions, and abolished the right to strike in 1960.
Janine Booth spoke at a Workers’ Liberty fringe meeting on Minnie Lansbury. The Education Solidarity Network held two fringe meetings, on anti-academy struggles and on testing and workload.
