The blatant retreat on engineers' pay

8.10 9.45 9.55 10.55 11.25 BE 9.35 ( 7.00 7.25 Remick, David Hedison, Betsy Blair. NEWS, weather.

THE FILE ON THE TSAR. An investigation. AD LIB. Series of conversations. Weather.

pen University.

NEWS REVIEW, weather.

MUSIC ON 2. Lorin Maazel Orchestra.

THE WORLD ABOUT US. corner of Spain.

GERMINAL. Part 5.

THE BLACK AND WHITE MI ISTREL SHOW. Teacher-training to be kept inferior THE report of the James Commission on Teacher Education and Training is likely to be published next It will recommend a rigid tripartite system of higher education, within which teacher-training will be narrow and isolated, with non-university graduates being confirmed as inferior-grade teachers. FLEET ST has so far shown abnormal restraint in its coverage of the engineering unions' decision to withdraw their national pay claim.

Even "The Economist', usually well to the fore when there's any crowing to be done at the expense of the working class, has neglected to comment.

However one hint of editorial opinion did creep through last Tuesday's 'Times' • Where the paper's former chief on labour matters, Eric Wigham, drew a tentative parallel between the 30week engineers' lock-out of 1897 and the situation facing the the industry today.

Wigham writes: 'History is unlikely to repeat itself exactly, if at all'.

But he draws attention to the fact that the lock-out was precipitated by union demands for a 48-hour week. "The present demands likely to be most stubbornly opposed are those for a 35-hour week,' he adds sagely.

All this is presumably supAUEW members above on March 1, and below on March 18 during the union's official one day strikes against the Industrial Relations Bill. dictributs orate fith a manimal if néconcá for romarahanciva grants committee. This final separation of the colleges from the universities will underline their inferior status.

All this not only confirms, but makes worse, the present system whereby teacher education is cut off from the mainstream of academic institutions.

In addition, this will reinforce the controlling grip on these colleges of the type of person who mainly run them today —people who are often referred entheless only nickerede brigade'.

If carried into effect, these proposals will create a two-tier system of teacher education.

The 'lower tier' will recéive only two years' teacher education, following on a general two-year diploma. At the end of the four years they will receive a BA (Ed.) degree-firmly fixed as an inferior degree with no honours.

The 'upper tier' of teachers will be the university graduates who will end up with two degrees, after five years of study.

Incensed Thus the fuss which has raged around the colleges over recent years about awarding degrees in education, boils down to an inferior award, markedly below a university degree in status.

It takes little imagination to see how the two tiers of teachers Will be distributed — especially when one considers that Lord James, now vice-chancellor of York University, was formerly high master of the very select Manchester Grammar school.

The majority of prospective teachers-those who will teach the bulk of working-class children-are to be segregated into the liberal arts colleges, cut off from the universities and the polytechnics, in what will undoubtedly be third-grade institutions.

The National Union of Teachers is already incensed that its recommendations, calling, GERMANY WHERE IS BRITAIN GOING?

AGE OF PERMANENT REVOLUTION REVOLUTION BETRAYED PERMANENT REVOLUȚION : RESULTS AND PROSPECTS IN DEFENCE OF MARXISM LESSONS OF OCTOBER STALINISM IN BRITAIN AAN:

MOSCOW By Industrial Correspondent, HEADA:

THES^ RAISE THE BOOKS HISTORY OF RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 3 vols PROBLEMS OF CHINESE REVOLUTION cloth posed to imply that if Hugh Scanlon and his fellow union chiefs think they are going to force major concessions from the employers with their new strategy of plant bargaining, they are going to lose, and lose heavily.

In this opinion Workers Press and many thousands of rank-and-file engineers would agree wholeheartedly with Mr Wigham.

Last week's decision by the Confederation Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions to 'break off relations' with the employers at national level was covered up with the usual double-talk.

Said CSEU president Frank Briggs: 'We expect many more local strikes.

"Militancy will grow, he continued, 'when it is realized by members that the militant people are getting more than others.

In fact the decision was a blatant retreat, led by the right wing, endorsed by the 'lefts' and carried through with the assistance of the Communist Party.

The retreat was prepared at a private executive meeting of the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers on the eve of the miners' strike. Votingrestricted to members of the AUEW enginéers' section, which includes at least one Communist Party member and one Maoistwas unanimous.

The decision was backed by men of similar political persuasions on the executives of the other three sections.

JOELLE, LUI a LUMpIELICISIVE DyStem of igher education, appear to have been given scant consideration by the James Commission, even though they were submitted as long ago as April, 1971.

Dragged

The NUT leadership, however, has always dragged behind its members in fighting for improved salaries and conditions and it signally failed to oppose registration of the union under the Industrial Relations Act. There are no grounds for hoping that such leaders can prevent the BASIC RATE 1 Teachers demonstrating over wages and conditions in March last year.

cloth £1.25 paperback £1.25 377p £1.50 45p cloth £1.05 paperback 627p {1.87} paperback {1.12} paperback 75p paperback 75p paperback 60p coth £2.00 paperback £1.127 paperback 75p Hugh Scanlon, AUEW president.

On day two of the miners' strike, the engineers' 52-man national committee met at TUC headquarters in London.

Here voting was 47-4 in favour of the executive's recommendation. Yet the Communist Party claims it can muster a vote of up to 21 on thé committee taking into account its own members and supporters.

In his "Times' article, Wigham suggests that the new policy may be seen as a return to the situation before a national-level relationship between unions and employers was imposed following the 1897 lock-out.

It now seems to be intended to restore to [district committees] the power to decide when down-grading The NUT proposals are: comprehensive university education to include schools of education;

teachers to be répresented at all levels of teacher education; all teachers to have the equivalent of one yéar in ten on in-service training and provision of properly equipped teachers' centres.

But it will take more than 'good ideas' to stop the Tories down-grading teacher-training.

Atter all, why should they bother with teachers who are only going to prepare children for the dole queue?

TEACHERS ASSOCIATION STAND CIRM tor o SILENT PAMPHLETS TRC DEATH AGONY OF CAPITALISM (he Transitional Programme)

CLASS NATURE OF THE SOVIET CLASS AND ART MARXISM AND THE TRADE UNIONS Please tick those books required NAME ADDRESS Amount enclosed £ 10p postage for each book.

Complete form and send money to:

Publications, 1864 Claphamj High. Sirael, disputes against individual firms should be supported', he says.

course, support any move towards democratization of the engineering unions if this were the intention of the new policy.

It is not. Instead, districts with a high unemployment rate will be placed entirely at the mercy of employers driven onto the attack by the crisis of their Plant bargaining in these circumstances nothing more than an open invitation to speed. up, wage-cutting and redundancies. It opens the door for splits in the ranks of engineering workers and intimidation by the employers.

London Palladium THEY JEERED, they jumped up and down in their seats, they yawned, they scratched themselvés-they even slept.

Fifth form at st Dominic's Free day at a Borstal? First night at the London Palladium?

No, it was Tuesday's coalindustry debate in the House of Commons themselves Labour MPs showing even more paralysed than usual by the Tory offensive against the miners.

Joe Gormley, the miners' union president, listened with rapt attention in a roped-off section of the public gallery; the party of Kent miners and their wives we were sitting with were just bewildered.

Gormley: a seat reserved Reports made up of black lettering on white newsprint don't