ANATOMY

Conference from Luton The National Union of Teachers recently. voted by a huge majority not to register under the Industrial Relations The 2,000 delegates at the union's conference voted under the shadow of the fine imposed on the Transport and General Workers' Union by the National Industrial Relations Court.

Non-registration is an important pointer to the direction in which teachers are being forced to move despite their boom-time and middle-class outlook.

The mood behind the overwhelming vote for non-registration ran completely counter to the miserable fence-sitting stance of the NUT leadership.

To defend rights and conditions in education teachers are being impelled to join the struggle of the working class.

The Tory government aims to destroy the gains made in state education and has begun the onslaught on school milk and meals and blocked secondary school building.

Teachers' living standards are in the front line of Tory fire against wages in the public sector.

The post-war boom gave rise amongst teachers to a belief in sometimes-interrupted but inevitable progress in education.

These illusions will shatter as the rapidly-developing worldwide recession forces every ruling class into a ruthless programme to slash labour costs. This includes, of course, education expenditure.

Union of Teachers salaries have risen only 35.7 per cent since 1965-just one tenth of a per cent more than the cost of living increases - whereas average earnings elsewhere rose over the same period by 50 per cent.

The executive's pay claim for 1973 marks an acceptance of the principle behind the employers' divisive scales imposed last year.

These enormously complex five ses divide teachers' pay into separate scales, more for heads and deputy heads.

This opens the door for keeping a great majority of teachers on depressed First Scale i an addition teachers on above have no interest the plight of those on Scale 1. Hence the employers hope to achieve their aim of diverting teachers from trade union struggle to seeking individual advance on to higher scales in fragmented profession.

On top of this, each scale could be negotiated separately and the way is open for grading of teachers to fit future slashed expenditure.

The system destroyed last year consisted of basic scale with fixed extra allowances for senior posts except heads and deputy heads.

This unified teachers by tying all salaries to the basic scale and players wish to destroy. it is this unity that the emBlackpool the executive proposed a simplified system of scales-with about 600: different salary levels instead of 3,000.

scale principlein after years of This abandonment of the basic campaigning its defence, marks extremely serious retreat. Its enormous implications have been indicated above.

The executive rested its case on the argument that its proposed scales are unified because they are mathematically linked by multiples of £96.

The leading Communist Party member on the executive Max Morris, termed this 'ingenious' and proclaimed: It's a winner' Anyone who questioned it 'should use their brains', he said.

Some less mathematicallyinclined delegates would have preferred the smallest indication of fire from their leaders.

The point is that however inge teas their claim might be, teachers' leaders will continue to be treated with the which seeks to slash the salaries bill.

Teachers must demand a sliding scale of wages to keep pace with the soaring cost of living.

The Tory government's confrontation with the trade union movement and its education cuts mean one vital lesson: trade union leaders who refuse to organize their members to defeat the government can only betray.

The defence of all aspects. of education revolves around this central question.

That is why the All Trades HILL T TEACH ASSOCIATO OUR LOREN EY bers allow the right wing a free rein and bear a major responsibility for the position within The executive memoranda on such vital topics as registration and salaries were said to have unanimous executive approval.

Britton can even with impunity in the middle of negotiations for a flat rate increase that teachers will probably have to accept a percentage increase in the end!

At the CP's teachers' meeting at Blackpool education spokesThe Stalinists' faith in negotiation with the Tory government was reflected in their teachers' journal Education Today and Tomorrow'. In a leading article (Vol. 24, No. 2) the sole call to action was: "Meantime, there should not be a staffroom in the country that has not demanded of the executive of their unions continuous sessions of Burnham until negotiations over the £250 claim are settled.' Tarver also poured scorn on the suggestion that scales could be used to implement produc-