recommendations of the Houghton Report on teachers' pay at a conference organised by the'E15 Action Committec at Holland Park Comprebensive School last Saturday.
The conference was called to discuss the political implications of the Houghton Report and the struggle against it. The report was seen by the conference as an attemipt by the Labour Government to buy off secbions of teachers as part of the social contract, defusing any struggle around expenditure cuts and the fieht apainst inflation.
A series of actions leading up to the NAME......
ABDRESS. 25 January Special Salaries Conference of the National Union of Teacherg which will decide afficial union policy on Houghton, was agreed upon. These wcluded a 3-day unofficial strike from 21 to 23 January, for, if this is impossible, a one-day strike on the 23rd), a lobby of the NUT Executive on Friday, 24 January; and working towards a massive lohby of the Spocial Salaries Conference on 25 January.
These actions are to he hacked up by association level, within the coming week.
The ropresentalives of the International Socialists at the conference failed to project any action beyond the taatic of token unaliicial strikes. Tbey saw this as the complete strategy for the fight Subscribe to Red apainst Houghton, a fact emphasised by soci mass wak out allee Ineir moton was passed. By doing this they totally failed to take up the key task of explaining the political implications of Houghton to the mass of teachers.
The Report's recommendations have alruady fulfilled ooe of its tasks-that of dividing toachers. Isolated strikes by millant schools will not even begin to tackle this problem.
A motion from Guret Green school strempeed to come to grips with this prublem. Its prapossl, passod by the cunference, was to establish a London Campaign Committee to mount a campuign aganst the tepert and to agitate amongst all leachers far an April pay scttlement lo include n L3,500 starting salary, with a shiding scale to proloct all teschens' incomes Iram the efficts of inflation.
An integral port of the Campaign Committoe's work will be to take the Right around education to the working dlass thraugh the rrode sauon bove ment. Jt will also Jave lo erginise solidarity actions with other schools, and set up Local conn manity action proups-including parent-teacher-sction committees For Jurther in formation contact the Convenor of the Campaign Committee,