Permanent Revolution

St Paul's Way NUT Letter from Socialist Teachers Alliance national convenor Alex Kenny

Addisalem — 2009-07-11 11:30:46

Alex Kenny wrote a letter to St Paul's Way NUT members arguing why the action should be called off. Members have asked us to post it here to have the argument out in full. We think the letter is woefully inadequate and set out below what we think should happen... writes Jason Travis, Tameside NUT

Hands Off Lewisham Bridge - Meeting with Local Authority Monday 13th July 4pm

Eleanor — 2009-07-08 23:36:24

Bring us back in September? Yes! Yes! Yes!

Parents have been invited to a meeting on Monday 13th July at 4pm at St Saviour's School, Lewisham High Street to discuss the possibility of returning to the school in September.

For more info please read the latest newsletter from Hands Off Lewisham Bridge.

Betrayal of St Paul's Way NUT Members

Eleanor — 2009-07-08 22:33:27

A graphic illustration of trade union bureaucracy’s capacity for betrayal was seen earlier this week when the NUT’s Action Committee pulled the plug on official strike action due to be taken by the St Paul’s Way NUT group. The NUT group had been trying to secure strike action from the Union since the end of the Spring term when the Headteacher (acting on behalf of the school’s Interim Executive Board) had revealed a restructuring plan that contained a vicious attack on jobs and conditions, with over 20 jobs under threat...writes Dave Gay..

SWP's Marxism event airs the debate over left unity

Keith H — 2009-07-08 15:26:19

When two or three thousand left wingers gather together to discuss socialism and the class struggle it is always going to be a lively affair, writes Stuart King, and this years Marxism was no exception.

NUT action committee abandons members at St Paul’s Way

Eleanor — 2009-07-08 09:19:37

National Union of Teachers' action committee abandoned its members at St Paul's Way Community School in Tower Hamlets as they called off the official strike action planned for Thursday 9th July. At a meeting on Tuesday with over 40 members present a vote to reject the LEA’s offer of a guarantee of no redundancies this term and to continue with the planned strike action was passed unanimously. Later that afternoon the NUT Action Committee told the NUT rep at the school that they were calling the action off. NUT members at the school will be meeting later today (Wednesday 08 July) to vote on a resolution for unofficial action. Please see the message below from the NUT rep at the School, Ammar Al-Ghabban, in the wake of the developments of Tuesday afternoon 07 July...

Parents have re-occupied Wyndford Primary School, Glasgow

Eleanor — 2009-07-07 21:41:27

On 26th June parents re-occupied their primary school in protest over its imminent closure by Glasgow Council.

They brought their first occupation during the Easter holidays to an end, as they did not want to disrupt their kids’ education. The council ignored them and other primary school parents and took the outrageous decision to close 22 primary schools in Glasgow.

It is now the summer holidays and when I spoke to Nikki yesterday she said parents were determined to stick it out until the end of the summer holidays.

Parents see off council vans

Haggerston School in Hackney strike on Thursday 9th July

Bill J — 2009-07-06 20:30:42

NUT members at Haggerston School in Hackney will be on strike on Thursday 9th July. Last week the head teacher and governors confirmed that they plan to make six teachers redundant.

Joseph Choonara Marxist accounts of the current crisis ISJ 123: Review

Bill J — 2009-07-03 21:24:29

In ISJ 123 Joseph Choonara provides a round up of the various Marxist explanations of the current crisis, critiquing them from what has become the orthodoxy of the ISJ tradition...writes Bill Jefferies....

Your Child, Your schools, Our future: Labour's nightmare vision for our schools

kirstie — 2009-07-03 00:11:52

The Government's new white paper Your Child, Your Schools, Our Future is Labour's most explict statement yet for what they have in store for state education - it's complete breakup. What they outline is an explict business model of education, where children are commodities whose value in the market can be improved through 'efficiency' and 'productivity' and where 'time and motion' studies of the classroom (read factory floor) will be used to monitor 'outcomes' (read our kids). Big brother is watching you. But trading people in the market isn't straight forward. How do you coerce people? Fear. Alongside the wholesale sell off of our schools is a host of draconian measures aimed at putting us in our place argues Kirstie Paton...

NSSN Conference: The Network that does Not Work

Bill J — 2009-07-02 22:16:12

On Saturday 27 June, beneath North London’s sweltering skies, the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) gathered for its third annual conference. There were some cracking speeches and some cracking speakers.

Manchester Lecturers Strike to Save Jobs

tina — 2009-07-02 11:37:30

Yesterday (1^st July) lecturers at Manchester College took strike action against threats of compulsory redundancy. One of the lecturers threatened with redundancy is the UCU branch secretary David Swanson.

Haggerston School strike Thursday 9th July

Bill J — 2009-07-01 23:48:44

NUT members at Haggerston School in Hackney are to strike next week on Thursday 9th July against proposed redundancies.

No trust in School Trusts!

kirstie — 2009-06-30 22:19:28

Those who have been fighting the privatisation of our schools through the Academy programme are well aware that Trusts are academies by another name. On Monday 29 June, over 60 people including teachers, lecturers, admin staff, teaching assistants, parents and activists from the local community agreed to launch a campaign to defeat Labour's plans to privatise our schools.

Convention of the Left Brighton 26th September

Bill J — 2009-06-29 18:39:50

The third Convention of the Left will be held in Brighton on Saturday September 26^th (around 10-4.30) – at the Brighthelm Community Centre.

Defend the DRAX 29

Bill J — 2009-06-28 10:43:40

Last summer 29 people stopped a train containing 1,000 tonnes of coal on its way to Drax power station in Yorkshire. Their trial starts in Leeds Crown Court on Monday 29 June 2009.

Total victory! Lindsey refinery strike

Bill J — 2009-06-26 20:44:05

From Bloomberg...Total SA, Europe’s largest refiner, said its contractors at the Lindsey plant reached an agreement with strikers, bringing back laid-off workers and ending a spate of sympathy walkouts across the U.K.“The contractors and unions came to a positive conclusion last night,” Total spokeswoman Emily Cooper said today....

Hands Off Lewisham Bridge threatened with eviction – round one to Lewisham Bridge!

Eleanor — 2009-06-26 14:40:19

Hands Off Lewisham Bridge called on all our supporters to help us resist the threatened eviction on 25th June. The bailiffs were due to arrive at 10.30 am.

By 9.00 am there were about 20 of us in the occupation and about 20 in the park below us. The sun was shining and our spirits were high – it was going to be a good day...writes Eleanor Davies...

Iran: first round to Ahmadinejad?

Keith H — 2009-06-25 11:28:26

Iran has just been through the largest period of mass mobilisation and social unrest since the 1979 revolution, writes Stuart King

Manchester College strike action over job losses

tina — 2009-06-25 09:42:09

Members of UCU today (Wednesday) overwhelmingly voted for strike action at Manchester College. Following a ballot where 74% of members polled voted yes to strike action and 84% voted in
favour of action short of a strike, the union announced that members will walk out on Wednesday 1 July.

Reply to the Socialist Workers Party’s Open Letter on Left Unity

Bill J — 2009-06-24 22:20:04

Dear Comrades, we welcome your open letter and call for unity on the left and would like to work alongside you to achieve it. Given the recent failure of attempts to build left alternatives, this is not going to be easy – but it is a vital and urgent task....write Permanent Revolution...