By Patrick Murphy, Leeds NUT
The National Union of Teacher (NUT) is alone among teacher unions in refusing to sign up to a national "agreement" between Government and unions which claims to offer workload reductions in return for acceptance of unqualified people teaching classes. The union's attitude is absolutely right: the workload reductions are a mirage.
Behind the "agreement" is the idea that the chronic teacher shortage can be resolved by employing unqualified staff on the cheap. Refusing to sign, however, is not the same as fighting the proposals. At this year's NUT Annual Conference in Harrogate at Easter the most important task is to ensure that the union campaigns seriously to frustrate this rotten deal.
At conference we also need to ensure that the union is committed to a ballot to boycott SATs next year.
And this could be the last Conference for 65-year old Doug McAvoy as General Secretary. There must be an election for his post next year and some of the candidates will launch their campaigns at this year's Conference.
There is no sign that the NUT leadership intend to act with any determination to stop the "Time for Standards" national agreement on remodelling and workload. At a meeting of Divisional Secretaries in January, Doug McAvoy reacted sympathetically to suggestions of no-cover action and a refusal to co-operate with the proposed reforms. Since then, however, he has been silent on the need for action and it is very clear that the majority group on the National Executive, the Broad Left, have no appetite for a fight. A number of their supporters privately believe that the union should have signed up.
Those whose central dogma is a belief in "professional unity" with the other teaching unions, the NASUWT and ATL, are desperate to get back in line with those unions and are embarrassed at the NUT's "isolation". Hence there is no chance of a fight unless the left takes a serious and focused approach at Conference and afterwards.
The conference debate is likely to centre around an emergency motion from the Campaign For a Democratic and Fighting Union (CDFU) which outlines three elements to an action strategy for opposing remodelling: a refusal to plan, prepare or mark work in relation to whole class teaching carried out by unqualified staff, no cover action and a refusal to submit planning. These are all deliverable, winnable actions which would in fact reduce workload and at the same time seriously disrupt the Government's plans. Such action may also accelerate the mood already developing among the other unions to pull out of the agreement.
There would undoubtedly be a vicious attack on the NUT from Government but the motion also outlines public campaigning ideas to take the case for all children to be taught by qualified teachers out to parents. It is crucial that this motion is debated and overwhelmingly carried. It will be strengthened further if conference passes an amendment originating with Workers' Liberty to allow the NUT to recruit support staff into membership and thus get the union to back a fight to improve these workers' pay and conditions.
Earlier this year the NUT appeared to be gearing up for a renewal of their boycott of the SATs and league tables. The union's magazine The Teacher carried advice from the Executive that members should consider suspending all further work on SATs this year pending an important Executive meeting on 27 March. In the event the NEC majority backed away from a boycott having, once again, sought the views of the other unions on the issue. They said that it was too late to affect this year's tests. Next year would be different.
We need to ensure that Conference sends the Executive away with an unmistakable mandate to ballot at the earliest opportunity to withdraw co-operation from the 2004 SATS and league tables. All the evidence demonstrates that SATs are educationally damaging and deeply unpopular with teachers, pupils and parents. The NUT should provide a clear lead and put an end to them.
The left candidate to replace Doug McAvoy will be a primary head teacher from Nottingham City, John Illingworth. John is a member of the CDFU and a recent National President of the union. He was one of the few Heads to refuse to pass on his SATs results to the LEA and has made a particular issue of tests, targets and league tables. He is also the author of the emergency motion on workload and remodelling at this year's Conference. A victory for John would be a huge step forward for the NUT and would reinforce the recent trend in the trade union movement for more militant and combative candidates to win national elections.
The opposition to John is not clear, however. It is expected that the current Deputy General Secretary, Steve Sinnott, will be the Broad Left candidate and that full-time national officer John Bangs will effectively be the "McAvoy candidate". The union leadership is therefore split, and neither of their candidates is very convincing. There have been signs recently, however, that McAvoy may stand again. He may not be convinced about the ability of Bangs to win and he will be aware that, without him, the left has the best opportunity in years to win the top position.
John Illingworth's campaign will need to take account of all these possibilities and provide a clear strategic alternative to the entire old leadership of the NUT.
If delegates come away from Conference having committed the union to a serious fight against remodelling and SATs the prospect of rebuilding confidence and electing a new leadership will have been hugely strengthened.
