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Sam Fisher, leading member of the Communist Party and member of the NUT executive, in summing up his opposition to the adoption of the Worki g Women's Charter by the NUT ca led its supporters the lunatic fringe': But this "lunatic fringe' managed to shake the NUT Conference to its very bones.
The Communist Party lined up with the right-wing of the union to block the adoption of the Charter. But the support by over 300 delegates makes one thing clear. The women who are in the majority of this union and of the teaching profession are not going to tolerate their secondrate status for much longer.
MOTION The motion was not expected to get onto the agenda of the Conference. But despite the opposition by the Communist Party and even by the International Socialist-controlled rank and file group, it was prioritised on the order paper. This indicates that support amongst teachers as a whole is even greater than that exp ressed in the Conference. Women teachers are on the move. Their determination to take up the fight against their oppression was expressed throughout the whole debate.
Even the male-dominated Executive were unable to oppose directly the sentiment of women teachers. After attempting unsuccessfully to get the motion taken off the agenda, they manouevred to substitute for the Charter a vague, non-commital statement on women's rights. The amendment was put forward by Sam Fisher. playing his usual role of covering up Vanessa Wiseman from the left for the NUT bureaucracy. The amendment was seconded by Dr. Roy, a right-wing member of the Executive - a most unholy alliance' AMENDMENT The whole amendment was a 'botched up job'. The actual wording of it was lifted out of the Anti-Discrimination Bill and is completely meaningless.
The speech used by Fisher to motivate the amendment was cribbed from an article written by the women's officer of the NUT, which made great claims about the union's stand for women, but he had to dredge up gains made over 20 years to give it any credibility We have long been in business in this matter.. Already the union has a number of achievements to its credit, including the overcoming of the marriage bar, equal pay itself and a maternity leave agreement."
Little wonder that the tiny handful of women members on the Executive voted against the amendment in favour of the Charter and were prevented from speakingThe most vicious arguments were used in support of the amendment.
One delegate tried to argue that the inclusion of the demand for free abortion on demand would alienate support for women's rights. But, as a speaker for the Charter had previously pointed out, the whole importance of the Charter was in showing how discrimination against women in teaching was bound up with her oppression in the family. Free abortion and contraception on demand were essential if women were ever going to get equal rights.
### CHARTER
But the issues raised by the Charter debate were by no means confined to a small corner of NUT policy.
This was made clear in the most important debate at the Conference- on the social contract. Reg Prentice (Minister for Education) appealed directly to teachers to take up the cudgels.
on behalf of the social contract.
Given the present crisis, he said, *The only answer is a permanent social contract, a long-term volutnary incomes policy in which the whole community exercises restraint...the more that is taken out of the national product for personal income, the less is available for schools and hospitals."
If this wasn't clear enough, Prentice went on to say that for every rise in salary outside of the social contract, the result would be one less nursery school.
Cath Young IMG delegates to the conference continually pointed out the need to smash the social contract. Liz Smith (Lambeth) said that unless we were able to confront the social contract head on, the position of women would not be improved. If there are less nursery schoolswho does it affect? When there are redundancies in part-time teaching staff because of cuts in social spending-who does it affect? To both questions the answer is: Women!
### SOCIAL CONTRACT
Troughout the whole conference, no mention was made by the executive of the social contract. When Sam Fisher, speaking on the amendment to the Charter motion, talked of 'a vigorous campaign against sex discrimination in all areas of education and overwhelming support for the principle of women's rights*, how did he envisage these things would be won-by empty words asking for more nurseries? or for women to be placed higher on the promotion ladder? No! It will happen only if a fight is waged, against against the social contract and for the types of demands raised in the Charter. continued on p. 16