Copies of my election leaflet can now be downloaded from the Lewisham NUT website
http://local.teachers.org.uk/lewisham/
Martin
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Sunday, 14 February 2010
My record of building the Union
" I have been teaching in London - and building the NUT- for over twenty years. Through consistent leadership, Lewisham NUT's membership has doubled since I became its Secretary. In that time, I have been involved in every major struggle of London teachers, from London Allowances to Sats, Performance Pay to Academies, combating the BNP to fighting job cuts. Right now, I am building action against pay cuts and on workload, organising against Academies, helping to hold off a 'Goldsmiths Trust' of local schools.
After Kevin Courtney's excellent victory in the Deputy General Secretary election, I am standing to fill his place on the NUT Executive and to use my skills and experience to help support teachers across Inner London.
I don't belong to any of the main groups on the NUT Executive. I can - and will - speak out when the NUT fails to act decisively to defend teachers. Our national campaigns on Pay & Sats have lacked a clear winning strategy. Above all, we have failed to protect teachers from intolerable workload.
Existing workload strategy relies on isolated school-by-school disputes. But the last two NUT Annual Conferences have agreed with me that we need to bring all members together to tackle a national issue through national action. We should be organising a national ballot to demand a National Contract that guarantees binding limits on our overall working and teaching hours. The present Executive has failed to act - I will insist that we delay no longer !
After the General Election, the new Executive may quickly need to respond to the challenge of severe cutbacks. Pay, pensions and jobs could be under attack. Academies and Trusts could spread further across London, even to primary schools. Poverty could divide youth and deepen pupil disaffection. Why should education be sacrificed to pay for the 'banksters' greed? We must organise with parents and other unions to oppose cuts and privatisation.
As Chair of the SE Region TUC Public Services Committee, I am already working with other unions to prepare for joint action to defend our services. I would visit London schools to discuss how best to develop public campaigns, work-to-rule and strike ballots - then ensure we turn words into action! "
After Kevin Courtney's excellent victory in the Deputy General Secretary election, I am standing to fill his place on the NUT Executive and to use my skills and experience to help support teachers across Inner London.
I don't belong to any of the main groups on the NUT Executive. I can - and will - speak out when the NUT fails to act decisively to defend teachers. Our national campaigns on Pay & Sats have lacked a clear winning strategy. Above all, we have failed to protect teachers from intolerable workload.
Existing workload strategy relies on isolated school-by-school disputes. But the last two NUT Annual Conferences have agreed with me that we need to bring all members together to tackle a national issue through national action. We should be organising a national ballot to demand a National Contract that guarantees binding limits on our overall working and teaching hours. The present Executive has failed to act - I will insist that we delay no longer !
After the General Election, the new Executive may quickly need to respond to the challenge of severe cutbacks. Pay, pensions and jobs could be under attack. Academies and Trusts could spread further across London, even to primary schools. Poverty could divide youth and deepen pupil disaffection. Why should education be sacrificed to pay for the 'banksters' greed? We must organise with parents and other unions to oppose cuts and privatisation.
As Chair of the SE Region TUC Public Services Committee, I am already working with other unions to prepare for joint action to defend our services. I would visit London schools to discuss how best to develop public campaigns, work-to-rule and strike ballots - then ensure we turn words into action! "
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Will we win a ballot for national action on workload?
In the run-up to NUT Anual Conference at Easter, Local Associations are discussing amendments that will be vital in making sure we have a clear strategy for the union after the general election - not least on workload.
The last two Annual Conferences have supported our calls for national action on workload - but no such ballot has been taken. I don't want that mistake to be repeated again.
There is much common ground on the 'Left' of the Union on the general issues - the worsening workload, the management culture driving it, the need for a National Contract that can offer teachers real protection against the incessant demands being put on them. The question is, what action are we going to take to change that?
I don't want Conference just to pass another worthy motion that lists the problems and our aims - but puts off really doing anything about them. I am confident that, if the Union agreed a ballot for national action in the autumn term - and then went out and built for it - then the ballot would be won.
That's why I hope we can agree a Conference amendment on workload that makes clear to a new Government of our intention to ballot in the autumn term, and to take that action unless there have been serious moves towards implementing our demands.
We need to build and prepare for that camapign throughout the summer term, consulting over the forms of strike and non-strike action that members would most find useful in limiting workload and effective in winning our demands. A series of local and regional rallies and meetings should be held to prepare for action. This is the kind of approach that we should have adopted after the SATs decision last Easter - we should do it now over workload.
Of course, other issues such as pensions and cuts may also become key priorities after the election. The discussion with members over workload action may also need to include action on these issues too. However, I don't see that one means ditching the other. Workload is an immediate and pressing issue for so many members that it will help encourage members to take action on other issues as well.
The last two Annual Conferences have supported our calls for national action on workload - but no such ballot has been taken. I don't want that mistake to be repeated again.
There is much common ground on the 'Left' of the Union on the general issues - the worsening workload, the management culture driving it, the need for a National Contract that can offer teachers real protection against the incessant demands being put on them. The question is, what action are we going to take to change that?
I don't want Conference just to pass another worthy motion that lists the problems and our aims - but puts off really doing anything about them. I am confident that, if the Union agreed a ballot for national action in the autumn term - and then went out and built for it - then the ballot would be won.
That's why I hope we can agree a Conference amendment on workload that makes clear to a new Government of our intention to ballot in the autumn term, and to take that action unless there have been serious moves towards implementing our demands.
We need to build and prepare for that camapign throughout the summer term, consulting over the forms of strike and non-strike action that members would most find useful in limiting workload and effective in winning our demands. A series of local and regional rallies and meetings should be held to prepare for action. This is the kind of approach that we should have adopted after the SATs decision last Easter - we should do it now over workload.
Of course, other issues such as pensions and cuts may also become key priorities after the election. The discussion with members over workload action may also need to include action on these issues too. However, I don't see that one means ditching the other. Workload is an immediate and pressing issue for so many members that it will help encourage members to take action on other issues as well.
Sunday, 7 February 2010
UCU and NUT discuss joint strategy
I attended a joint NUT/UCU meeting on Thursday to discuss a joint approach to the forthcoming changes in 16-19 funding.
The return of funding from the Learning and Skills Council to Local Authorities was welcomed by unions. However, the transition to the new arangements, against a background of spending cuts, could be fraught with difficulties.
The demise of the LSC points out an obvious contradiction in Government policy. Labour and Tory politicians alike want to dismanatle Local Authorities through Academies and Trusts. However, they have had to recognise that Local Authorities are required to plan 16-19 prvision in a locality. Of course, they only see the LAs as "commissioners" rather than providers of education.
Already, Higher Education is facing swingeing cuts, choking the opportunities for the young people that we teach to get to university. Leeds University UCU members have just voted in favour of strike action to ,oppose announced cust of £35 million, the equivalent of 700 jobs being lost.
The return of funding from the Learning and Skills Council to Local Authorities was welcomed by unions. However, the transition to the new arangements, against a background of spending cuts, could be fraught with difficulties.
The demise of the LSC points out an obvious contradiction in Government policy. Labour and Tory politicians alike want to dismanatle Local Authorities through Academies and Trusts. However, they have had to recognise that Local Authorities are required to plan 16-19 prvision in a locality. Of course, they only see the LAs as "commissioners" rather than providers of education.
Already, Higher Education is facing swingeing cuts, choking the opportunities for the young people that we teach to get to university. Leeds University UCU members have just voted in favour of strike action to ,oppose announced cust of £35 million, the equivalent of 700 jobs being lost.
February edition of Classroom Teacher
The February edition of Classroom Teacher is now on the Classroom Teacher website http://classroomteacher.org.uk/CTFeb2010.pdf
The article on SATs by Louise Cuffaro, a Newham primary teacher, is definitely worth a read:
At the end of January, I attended an informative London Reps’ training. Only a day or two previously, a joint NUT/NAHT press statement had been issued stating that both unions will be balloting for action "to frustrate the administration of SATs". However, it appears that only NUT leadership group members (together with NAHT members) will in fact be balloted, due to the legality about who is responsible for administering the SATs. Reps held a meeting to discuss our concerns about this.
NUT Conference voted to support a boycott of the 2010 SATs. Most Reps and our members expected strong guidance and support to be issued and publicised in time to enable them to resist all SATs preparation from September. But no such guidance came from the NUT Executive.
Inevitably, Heads have pressurised Year 6 teachers to carry out mock SATs tests, to hold booster classes, to give up P.E., Art, trips... Heads have used Ofsted, League Tables and the lack of any concrete details of the NUT campaign to ensure that the grinding preparation for SATs (which constrains the curriculum and means stress and workload for pupils and teachers alike) has carried on.
The legal difficulties may well be real. But the lack of attempt to guide NUT members to strongly resist the preparation process means reps felt unsure that this ballot will be won. It's not usually the manager members of any union that boldly carry out industrial action! However, it is possible for NUT Headteachers, together with their NAHT colleagues, to be persuaded to vote and take decisive action so long as a serious and public strategy is embarked on urgently and publicised to staff,parents and governors. For example:
1) issue urgent guidance and support to Year 6 staff to help them resist the preparation process.
2) all members should be asked to vote that they will be prepared to take action to support anyone who is victimised.
3) all members receive FAQs on how to resist if a Head tries to pressure them to administer the SATs.
54 reps at the meeting signed a letter to Christine Blower with our concerns. Teachers should make their views known to the NUT Executive before they meet on Thursday 25 February.
The article on SATs by Louise Cuffaro, a Newham primary teacher, is definitely worth a read:
At the end of January, I attended an informative London Reps’ training. Only a day or two previously, a joint NUT/NAHT press statement had been issued stating that both unions will be balloting for action "to frustrate the administration of SATs". However, it appears that only NUT leadership group members (together with NAHT members) will in fact be balloted, due to the legality about who is responsible for administering the SATs. Reps held a meeting to discuss our concerns about this.
NUT Conference voted to support a boycott of the 2010 SATs. Most Reps and our members expected strong guidance and support to be issued and publicised in time to enable them to resist all SATs preparation from September. But no such guidance came from the NUT Executive.
Inevitably, Heads have pressurised Year 6 teachers to carry out mock SATs tests, to hold booster classes, to give up P.E., Art, trips... Heads have used Ofsted, League Tables and the lack of any concrete details of the NUT campaign to ensure that the grinding preparation for SATs (which constrains the curriculum and means stress and workload for pupils and teachers alike) has carried on.
The legal difficulties may well be real. But the lack of attempt to guide NUT members to strongly resist the preparation process means reps felt unsure that this ballot will be won. It's not usually the manager members of any union that boldly carry out industrial action! However, it is possible for NUT Headteachers, together with their NAHT colleagues, to be persuaded to vote and take decisive action so long as a serious and public strategy is embarked on urgently and publicised to staff,parents and governors. For example:
1) issue urgent guidance and support to Year 6 staff to help them resist the preparation process.
2) all members should be asked to vote that they will be prepared to take action to support anyone who is victimised.
3) all members receive FAQs on how to resist if a Head tries to pressure them to administer the SATs.
54 reps at the meeting signed a letter to Christine Blower with our concerns. Teachers should make their views known to the NUT Executive before they meet on Thursday 25 February.
Sunday, 31 January 2010
Sao Paulo teachers fight casualisation
The photo shows CPERS members on the march at the start of the Social Forum meeting in Porto Alegre. CPERS has twice forced the state governor to retreat from attacks on teachers' conditions over the last two years.
Apeoesp - the biggest union in Latin America
I travelled to Sao Paulo to meet with members of Apeoesp, the teachers' union for Sao Paulo state. With around 150,000 members, they are the biggest union in Latin America.
Apeoesp colleagues explained how they faced an attack from their state governor which aims to increase the casualisation of teachers. This was to be done by subjecting teachers to an annual 'test'. The results have just come out and only about half of teachers have been told they have 'passed', threatening many long-serving teachers' eligibility for work. At best, they will only be allocated a few hours of work a week.
This attack - which is a warning to teachers in England and Wales facing our own 'MOT test' - is of course heralded as a way to 'keep up standards'. Of course, it is really about blaming teachers for problems in education and keeping teachers fearful of their jobs. Answers to a narrow 'multiple-choice test' do not measure the worth of a teacher. As the teachers' say, colleagues have gained their teachers' qualification - they should not have to now pass this annual test to prove their abilities.
Unfortunately, the struggle has been complicated by some in the leadership of the union having links to President Lula's government - who have a similar education policy to the right-wing state governors'. Lula may have been elected with a history as a fighting trade unionist, but his policies no longer represent the interests of trade unionists as they did in the past (doesn't that sound familiar too!).
The discussion was also useful to exchange views about trade union organisation and our respective school systems. Brasilian schools work three 'shifts' a day to educate all children. Union meetings certainly can't be 'after school' as they would clash with the 'evening shift'. But general meetings are held four times a year during school time and every school rep is allowed to attend. Each 'shift' has a rep, so this could be up to three reps attending per school. With school union reps in England struggling to get release time from some bullying Headteachers - and some areas finding it difficult to build quorate general meetings - wouldn't this be a good example to demand ourselves?!
Martin Powell-Davies
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Kevin Courtney elected as NUT DGS
Kevin Courtney has been elected (by 53% to 47% for Martin Reed) to become the next Deputy General Secretary of the NUT.
I strongly supported Kevin as the candidate who most strongly called for joint action to defend teachers and education from the attacks that will follow after the General Election.
Kevin´s election also confirms that I will be standing for the now ´vacant´ seat on the NUT Executive from Inner London in the elections which will be held in March (see post below).
I strongly supported Kevin as the candidate who most strongly called for joint action to defend teachers and education from the attacks that will follow after the General Election.
Kevin´s election also confirms that I will be standing for the now ´vacant´ seat on the NUT Executive from Inner London in the elections which will be held in March (see post below).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)