Tristram's Oath - Time to discuss standing our own election candidates

The failure of Tristram Hunt, Labour's Shadow Education Secretary, to significantly challenge Government policy has already disappointed many teachers. His statement today calling for teachers to make an 'oath' declaring their commitment to the profession has generated real anger.

However it's dressed up, the proposal insultingly suggests that problems in education can be blamed on the lack of commitment from teachers. To make such an insulting statement just a week after the NUT revealed the damning results of its workload survey is quite incredible. In response, even Nicky Morgan was forced to acknowledge that workload needed to be addressed. But not Tristram!

Apparently, this suggestion was the product of Hunt's recent visit to Singapore (see BBC News via http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-29482160), a schooling system which has been criticised for the enormous pressures it places on school students. 

Social media has been full of angry responses, such as:

The BBC News article blurted out what may well be the uncomfortable truth about Tristram: "from Labour's perspective, it also moves the education debate away from government changes that are unlikely to be unpicked".

Yes, the NUT's Education Manifesto explains correctly how "the academies and free schools programme has resulted in unnecessary fragmentation of the education system" and demands "Give local authorities back the legal powers they need to plan and provide enough school places in their local areas" and "Restore the role of the local authority as the democratic local organisation responsible for education".

However, a future New Labour Government apparently has no intention of doing any such thing. Tristram Hunt is quoted in the BBC article as saying "We're very much in favour, and I'm very passionate about, parents and charities setting up schools, providing choice for people in areas where we need new school places .. We want to see a multiplicity of provision - academy chains, single academies, community schools, parent-led academies."

So, this is the tweet that I posted today:

Some excellent work is being done by NUT Associations distributing our Education Manifesto and lobbying politicians. However, the likelihood is our words will fall on deaf ears, particularly at the tops of the main political parties.

How long do we continue to put up with politicians that are wedded to cuts and privatisation at the expense of teachers, children and their parents and communities? Isn't it high time that the NUT, alongside other trade unions, started to talk seriously about providing alternative political representation that is prepared to stand up for trade union policies?

The NUT would not be alone in having this debate. Indeed, it's instructive that, following their high-profile dispute, the leader of the Chicago Teachers' Union, Karen Lewis, has been preparing to stand in the election for Mayor of Chicago. (Karen has been seriously ill this week and I wish her well in her recovery - you can too via the AFT website - search for 'Get Well Soon Karen Lewis')

That's why, as discussed at the LANAC Steering Committee yesterday, I have drafted a motion for the 2015 Annual Conference that I hope NUT Local Associations will put forward in their General Meetings before the deadline later this term. It can be downloaded via http://goo.gl/X22qzY but here's the text I am proposing:
 
The NUT Manifesto and the Union’s Political Fund

Conference congratulates members across the Union who have worked hard to distribute the “manifesto for our children’s education” to parents, politicians and in our local communities.

We welcome the support that the Manifesto has received, including from educationalists such as Professor Robin Alexander who correctly described it as “not some ideological wish-list but a sensible and principled statement with a firm basis in evidence”.

Conference agrees that we must continue to lobby the main political parties in order to try and persuade them to adopt our Manifesto recommendations. We encourage Associations to write to General Election candidates in their local Parliamentary Constituencies asking if they support the recommendations, and to draw candidates’ responses to the attention of their membership.

However, Conference notes with regret that, despite our efforts, whatever party or parties form the next Government after May’s General Election, it is highly unlikely that its education policies will adopt many of the recommendations set down in the Manifesto.

Conference recognises that an urgent debate is now required within the Union as to how we can best address the democratic deficit created when the main parties jointly support policies promoting austerity and privatisation.

Conference notes that, in the face of similar attacks on public services and their trade union members, similar debates have taken place in other trade unions, such as the PCS, RMT and the Chicago Teachers Union. The NUT now also needs to consider whether we should give backing to alternative political representation, including through the use of our Political Fund to support candidates in local and national elections who are in support of Union policies.

Conference instructs the Executive to:

1) Consult with members and Local Associations and Divisions about the Union giving support to NUT members, and/or other trade union or community candidates, standing for election on a platform which is in line with Union policies;

2) Approach other non-Labour-affiliated unions, and in particular PCS and RMT, for exploratory talks with a view to working together on addressing the lack of adequate political representation for trade unionists;

3) Report back to Conference 2016 on the results of these discussions, including proposals for any recommended Rule Changes that have arisen from them which would require the agreement of Annual Conference. 

... and congratulations to everyone for another well-supported 'Twitter storm' tonight. Here's two more of mine that seemed to go down well with colleagues:

PLEASE NOMINATE MARTIN POWELL-DAVIES FOR RE-ELECTION TO THE NUT EXECUTIVE

THE MEMBERS ELECTED TO THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE FOR 2014-2016 will face a sterner test than any previous national leadership has faced.

• Can we successfully defend teachers against the attacks on pay, pensions and conditions and on teacher trade union organisation?

• Can we oppose attempts to go back to a Victorian age of payment-by-results and just an ‘elementary’ curriculum for working-class children?

• Will teaching become an even more unbearable job where divided and bullied colleagues are used up, burnt out and then just replaced?

The answer to those questions is, I fear, in the balance. We face a Government determined to drive through cuts and privatisation. The next Government, whoever wins, may be little different. Yet their policies do not have public support, particularly if we expose their real agenda. I am confident that firm action can push back these attacks – but time is running short to organise it.

Since I have been on the Executive, I have helped build national action, as took place in 2011. However, I have also seen the anger from London teachers at being called out on an isolated regional strike in 2012 that was not then followed by further action. We have also all taken part in the determined regional action of 2013 – only to see Gove emboldened by the NASUWT and NUT drawing back from the national strike action that was promised for the end of November.

Members were told that we had been promised talks – but Gove was always clear that any ‘talks’ would only be about ‘implementation’ of his policies. His provocative response was only to be expected from a hardened Tory politician who saw his trade union enemies hesitating once again. Now that the talk of ‘genuine dialogue’ has been exposed as a sham, we must reinstate our action.

If we keep hesitating, then we will only give Gove confidence to attack us even more. Yet, he should be the one on the back-foot. His policies on free-schools and pupil places are increasingly exposed. Our regional strikes were solidly-supported. We should be following up that action with a firm calendar of escalating action, which certainly needs to include considering a two-day strike.

Regrettably, we have no firm date for action after Xmas and certainly no agreed plan for further national strike action after that. We need to hold joint meetings of NUT and NASUWT members across our region to build support for national action. We also need to elect a National Executive that will be as determined in fighting for that action as Gove is determined to attack education.

Martin Powell-Davies, current member of the NUT National Executive and candidate for NUT VP

• Secretary of Lewisham NUT since 1993. In that time, Lewisham Association has been built from under 900 to over 2000 members, becoming a strong, well-organised, campaigning Local NUT Association. Martin has led campaigns, rallies and demonstrations from cuts to SEN and teachers’ jobs to opposing racist attacks and academies. He has supported hundreds of individual teachers and NUT school reps.

• Member of the NUT National Executive since 2010. Martin was successfully elected because of the support for his record in the Union locally and nationally and his support for collective action to oppose attacks on teachers and education. While on the Executive, Martin has consistently argued that the Union has a responsibility to give a lead and call national strike action. His stand for National Vice-President has been well-supported and the result of that election will be known after November 20th. If Martin is unsuccessful in that election, he will rightly be standing to retain his seat on the NUT Executive.

Teachers have no choice but to to take strike action

Every teacher needs to know that we have no choice but to engage in a very serious battle. It is not just a battle for our livelihoods but for the very future of education.

The post-war consensus that high quality education was a vital investment for the future of society and that comprehensive education, run by Local Authorities, was the best way to provide it, is now long gone.

As Gove's attacks on GCSEs have shown, these real 'enemies of promise' are calculating that there is no point in providing education-for-all when society cannot provide job opportunities for most school-leavers. Why have a broad curriculum to educate critical thinkers, when they want  schools simply to teach most children to 'know their place' ?

Why have experienced, qualified, teachers when a compliant deregulated workforce that is hired, overworked, then spat out, is so much easier for them to manipulate?

Why staff schools with properly paid and valued teachers and teaching assistants, if it it gets in the way of your business friends making profits out of privatised education, as has been 'achieved' in Sweden ?

Of course, these attacks started under New Labour but they have been taken on with a vengeance by Cameron and Gove. They seem determined to get through as much of their neo-liberal agenda as possible before the next General Election, knowing that any future Labour administration is unlikely to reverse any of their cuts and attacks.

The attacks on pensions mean teachers are already having to pay more out of their salary for the privilege of working for longer.

Union dithering earlier this year has meant that the new Pay and Conditions Document has been imposed before we even take strike action. That could pave the way for schools introducing pay policies that will enforce Performance Pay even on the Main Scale. It provides a perfect tool for Gove to achieve his aims of lowering costs, dividing the workforce, bullying staff into taking on even more workload, while undermining trade unions and collective national conditions.

The ending of 'pay portability' could create a frantic 'race to the bottom' as teachers underbid each other to secure employment at the lowest salary. Already, I have heard of a Lewisham school trying to propose that a M6 teacher accepts a job for lower wages. Unless we fight firmly, this will become the 'norm' across education.

Emboldened by the delay in unions calling action, Gove has already announced that he also intends to claw back non-pay conditions as well. The Review Body will make its report in January, in time, if Gove thinks he can get away with it, to impose this next round of attacks by September 2014. It could mean the end of guaranteed PPA non-contact time and limits on cover. It could even mean the end to any proper limits on our working day and year if the '1265 hours' and '195 days' limits are removed.

Gove hopes to undermine our opposition by setting parent against teacher, rubbishing teachers in the press and putting out false information about our holidays and workload. However, if we go out and explain the reality of teachers' lives - and the reality of Gove's plans for education - we can win parents to our side. 

Teacher 'burnout' rates are already the highest in Europe; we already work some of the longest hours and shortest holidays; the constant turnover of staff in many schools is both bad for education and bad for teachers. 

Most teachers know that Gove's attacks have to be stopped. After all, our incessant workload is almost impossible to maintain already. But the question in teachers' minds is, 'can we stop these attacks'? The answer has to be YES !
 
If teacher trade unions organise a firm calendar of action, then we can burst the balloon of this shaky and divided Government. Teachers' strikes have enormous potential power because of the way schools are used to provide child-care for so many working families. We have to use that power to defend those families' education - and our livelihoods.

Our 2011 action did achieve some gains, such as the concession on the retirement age for the over 50s - but the sudden ending of the action meant that most of the pension attacks were carried through - and led to real doubts in staffrooms about whether Unions were serious in their opposition.

The delay in calling action earlier this year has also increased doubts, while giving confidence to Gove to step-up his attacks. We are now having to fight a rearguard battle to try and reverse the new Pay and Conditions Document and to win pay policies that at least give some level of protection.

However, despite those doubts in some teachers' minds, there is a growing anger and realisation that something has to be done, and soon. A calendar of joint NUT / NASUWT strike action has now been agreed, starting with the regional North-West strike on June 27th. That should - and must - be followed with further regional action in the Autumn and a national strike in November - and further action beyond that. 

If Gove refuses to budge, perhaps even going further by announcing major attacks on working conditions too, then we have to consider responding with a two-day national strike in 2014.

We need every member to prepare for a serious battle. That also means collecting for hardship funds and advising colleagues to put some money aside to pay for salary deductions on strike days.

We will need to be mounting local battles too over pay policies. Where possible, strike action should also be co-ordinated across schools to overcome the pressure and isolation that an individual school group can feel under.

Can we pull off such a campaign? Well, if we don't, just consider the consequences: a divided workforce where pay progression can be arbitrarily blocked; a regime where teachers bullied out of a school find they have to accept huge pay cuts in order to secure another post; teachers exhausted by even longer hours and greater demands. The job would become absolutely intolerable.

We have a stark choice. We can allow the Government to enforce a future of deregulated salaries, with no real workload limits, with rapid staff turnover making it hard for unions to organise - or we stand firm and fight.

Gove's plans will be terrible for teachers - but they will be terrible for our school students too. 

We have no choice but to act. If we act firmly together, then we can not only confirm to Gove and Cameron that we are, indeed, the "forces of resistance" but show that we can be the "forces of victory" for education as well!

Martin Powell-Davies to stand for NUT National Vice-President

The following letter has been issued today to all NUT Associations in England and Wales

PLEASE NOMINATE MARTIN POWELL-DAVIES FOR NUT NATIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT

We are writing to you to ask that you put forward Martin Powell-Davies, our Lewisham NUT Secretary, as one of your two nominations for the election for NUT Vice-President that will take place in the autumn.

Lea Bonnell, Assistant Secretary, Lewisham NUT
Adarsh Sood, President, Lewisham NUT

Lawrence Stevens, Treasurer, Lewisham NUT

These are just some of the reasons why we believe Martin should be elected to this post:

Teachers and education are under severe attack. This Government is determined to drive through its cuts to pay, pensions and conditions so as to cut the cost of education. It wants to stop unions leading communities in a successful campaign to oppose its attacks on state education.

Faced with these threats, we need National Officers who will provide bold leadership and a clear strategy. As a respected Divisional Secretary and Joint Union Secretary for the last twenty years, Martin has shown that he has the skills, ideas and experience needed to take on such a key role.

The failure to take national strike action since 2011 has raised doubts amongst teachers as to whether the NUT is prepared to mount a serious struggle. Our pensions have worsened, a new STPCD has been imposed to accelerate performance-related pay, and now national conditions are under threat too.

As a member of the National Executive for the last three years, Martin has consistently argued that the Union has a responsibility to give a lead and call national strike action. Conference eventually voted against the proposal that our joint calendar of action start this term with a national strike. Martin helped lead that call but is now strongly campaigning for the action that has been agreed.

Martin is working closely with other unions to campaign for adoption of the NUT/NASUWT pay policy. However, Martin understands that school-by-school action will not be enough and that 27 June must also just be the start of escalating action. As part of his campaign, Martin will be calling for the promised programme of ongoing action to be put firmly in place, and continue into 2014.

As NUT Secretary, as well as still being a practising science teacher, Martin understands the pressures facing NUT members – and officers. He knows the relentless workload we face, made worse by imposed targets and nit-picking observations. That’s why, as a NUT Conference delegate since 1990, Martin has consistently and correctly argued for action to be taken on workload.

Whilst others have doubted the willingness of teachers to struggle, Martin has understood that, given those pressures, teachers will respond positively to a clear lead. As National Officer, Martin would help Associations to encourage and explain to members why we need to act boldly together.

Martin has already received the backing of the Local Associations National Action Campaign (LANAC) to stand in this election. After debate, his candidature was proposed and overwhelmingly endorsed at a LANAC Committee attended by delegates from 26 different Local NUT Associations.

We hope you can also endorse Martin’s candidature and nominate him from your Association.  

To download a copy of the letter, visit the Lewisham NUT website: http://local.teachers.org.uk/templates/asset-relay.cfm?frmAssetFileID=10826

LANAC Committee builds for the action we need to defeat Gove's attacks

LANAC’s Steering Committee meeting in Birmingham on Saturday 18 May marked another step forward in the development of the Local Associations National Action Campaign. The meeting brought together teacher trade unionists from Hull to Plymouth, Liverpool to Lewes, to share experience and discuss proposals as to how to successfully build collective action to defeat the escalating attacks on teachers and education.

LANAC’s agreed democratic structures give every affiliated NUT Association a vote. On Saturday, there were 26 delegates present, along with observers from three further NUT Associations. Those structures provide reassurance to Associations that LANAC’s decisions are properly based on the views of those affiliated. However, LANAC meetings are open to school reps and observers from non-affiliated Associations, and there were 40 people present altogether at the meeting. Affiliations had come in from a number of new Associations in the last few weeks, such as Redbridge, Stockport, Rotherham, Harlow and Bolton.

The first session, on “Building for June 27 and beyond”, heard reports from the North-West, where regional strike action will be taking place in June, but also from many other regions as well. Plans and suggestions made included:

·        Building for the calendar of regional and national action that has been outlined, recognising both the enthusiasm of the teachers turning out to rallies and local meetings, some for the first time, but also the doubts and frustration of some reps and members who understandably question how serious the NUT and NASUWT leaderships are in building a programme of action that is strong enough to defeat Gove’s attacks.

·        Continuing to push for the ongoing plan of strike action to be confirmed and publicised.

·        Building links locally with NASUWT members so they also put pressure on their union to maintain the battle after June 27 and beyond.

·        Confirming twinning arrangements between Associations in the North-West and other regions to send messages of support, perhaps delegations on the day, and to make direct twinning links between schools.

·        Calling LANAC meetings to follow the strike rallies on June 27 to allow teachers to discuss the next steps in the campaign.

·        Campaign work in other areas including public leafleting and local demos on June 25/26/27.

·        Linking the battle over pay to the linked attacks on pensions and conditions, making clear to teachers and parents that this is part of a wider battle to defend education as a public service.

A second short session, on the campaign to win acceptable pay policies, followed. During the discussion, encouraging news came from the nearby NAHT Conference of the Heads’ vote of no confidence in Gove. However, this was tempered by the knowledge that the NAHT pay policy accepted some of the worst aspects of Gove’s performance-pay proposals! Nevertheless, along with the clear divisions within the Government, it was another sign of the weakness of the Coalition and why, with a clear and determined plan of action, we could reverse these attacks.

There were some positive reports – for example from Leicester – where Local Authorities seemed willing to recommend policies that broadly protect existing pay progression and ‘portability’ arrangements. However, other Authorities were clearly planning to push ahead with DfE recommendations. The meeting agreed that we needed to make sure that Associations weren’t left to just organise isolated school-by-school battles which would be totally insufficient to defend the majority of teachers.  We needed to collectivise and co-ordinate disputes as much as possible. Suggestions included:

·        Writing jointly to Heads, Governors and Councillors to explain the dangers of PRP (an example of a letter from Lewisham ATL/NASUWT/NUT was circulated).

·        Proposing rolling strikes in schools who have adopted unacceptable pay policies so that, each week, schools are on strike across an Authority, to persuade the LA to step-in and recommend acceptable pay policies to be adopted by schools.

·        Warning Heads that school groups would request strike action if any one of their colleagues were denied pay progression

·        In line with advice issued by PCS on performance management to its HMRC members, calling on members to refuse to agree unacceptable numerical targets and to use appeal and grievance policies as part of building up a campaign of opposition.

·        Call on unions to pursue further the legalities of a dispute about the role of OfSTED given their clearly political role in monitoring PRP implementation and in bullying Heads and schools to comply.

·        Circulate model LANAC materials to all NUT Associations on these issues.

The third session, on building LANAC, reflected on the influence we have already built over the last year and reached a number of conclusions:

·    the next LANAC Steering Committee will be held in September, acting as an AGM to elect LANAC Officers last elected in September 2012, and a Conference in December to review the progress of the joint NUT/NASUWT campaign following the national strike action which should be taking place in November. 
·        LANAC will have its own office at the Premier Inn in Brighton for the 2014 NUT Conference and a block booking of 50 rooms, most of which have now been allocated to Associations (to confirm). 
·        We confirmed the existing voting arrangements (outlined above) although discussion could, of course, continue and any association could propose alternative arrangements in future. 
·        LANAC should produce a further newsletter, certainly to intervene around June 27^th actions.

The final session discussed the elections taking place in the NUT in 2013/14. Events since LANAC had been set-up at 2012 Conference had confirmed that, the divisions over action policy seen at that Conference (and indeed in 2011), and in debates on the NUT National Executive, had continued.  2013 Conference had made clear that LANAC represented a definite trend of opinion within the NUT over calling national action. While we had narrowly lost the vote on our amendment, we had received substantial support. If we were to give voice to those views, and an opportunity for teachers to vote for them, LANAC needed to support candidates in these elections. These proposals made were:
. On the 2014 NUT National Executive elections, LANAC-supporting Associations should work together to support the re-election of those candidates seeking re-election to the NEC. 
. We would not oppose other sitting members of the ‘Left Caucus’ seeking re-election

. We would seek to strengthen the support for candidates supporting LANAC in areas where either there were vacant seats and/or seats where we could seek to challenge ‘Broadly Speaking’ members and that we should discuss locally to seek agreement on candidates and campaigns.
. LANAC should support a candidate for Vice-President and call on Local Associations to nominate that candidate.  This would, firstly, help increase the pressure next term to ensure that the calendar of action was maintained and extended. A VP supporting LANAC would also ensure that LANAC continued to have a voice in the discussions that take place on the NUT National Officer’s body. We would also be able to clearly back a candidate who had argued, and voted, for national action at Conference which may not otherwise be standing.

The points on the NEC election were generally accepted. A suggestion was made that, if possible, all candidates supporting LANAC should try and include a minimal set of demands common to all. 

However, some observers and delegates argued that it would be wrong for LANAC to call on Associations to back a VP candidate when LANAC only stood for a limited program that did not extend to wider educational issues. However, others pointed out that it was precisely our program of consistently supporting national action to defend pay, pensions, conditions – and education as a whole – that distinguished LANAC from other trends within the Union. 

There was also an argument that the decision should be postponed until a later meeting but it was pointed out that, the issue had been highlighted on the agenda in advance and, in practice, postponing a decision effectively meant deciding not to back a candidate for VP, given the timescale for seeking nominations – which had to take place this term or, by the latest, by the end of September. While Local Associations had to make their own democratic decisions about nominations, the decision of the delegate-based LANAC meeting also gave genuine backing to any candidate endorsed by the Steering Committee.

A vote was taken:

a)      For LANAC to support a candidate for Vice-President. This was agreed by 17 votes to 6.

b)      To support Martin Powell-Davies, the LANAC Convenor (and the only name proposed by the meeting) as that candidate. This was agreed by 18 votes to 7. 

LANAC will publicise all the points above in order to build collective action, strengthen the campaign to win local battles over pay policies, build the strongest possible response to the regional strikes on June 27, September and October, and to keep up the pressure for national strike action to be called in November – and beyond.