Rank and File, the left-wing teachers organisation within the National Union of Teachers, held a conference in London over the weekend of 10/11 February. The conference was attended by some 200 members.
The central feature of the conference was the emergence during the perspectives debate of two alternative strategies for the organisation. The previous strategic orientation had been contained in a Rank and File pamphlet, Democracy in Schools, produced by comrades in the International Socialism group. The ambiguous term 'democracy has been used in this context as a cover for putting forward what is actually a participation scheme. The IS comrades have argued that the control of schools should be in the hands of a reformed Governing Body with equal representation for teachers, pupils, parents and members of the local education authorities, all working within the framework of national education policy.
The IMG argued that the so-called equal parties are in fact unequal, and their interests remain opposed whatever the formal veneer; the scheme represents an attempt by radical teachers to make an alliance with the capitalist state in the hope of solving their problems. Hence their struggle against authority in the schools has turned into a struggle for demo cratic participation in the activities of the capitalist state. IMG comrades argued that this would mean in practice that these new forces could not play an effective role in the class struggle, because the state would co-op! them on to its bodies thus making them appear in the eyes of the working class as responsible for the problems in the schools The IMG perspectives document went further to po pose a new strategic orientation: an alliance with the working class and its allies (including pupils), against the capitalist state and the interests of the ruling class in education The IS forces were confused. Many IS members insist: that the thing now is to organise the staff independently of the state, while others spoke of re-writing the pamphlet, Democracy in Schools. Yet, IS block voted against IMG on all the major issues. Such confusion and dishonesty can only alienate non-aligned militants in Rank and File. An organisation should carry out an honest assessment of its past. The only way in which an organisation like Rank and File can move forward is by recognising ideological differences (e.g. between libertarians and Marxists) while uniting in action all those forces who are prepared to struggle along a principled strategic axis and on a clear class basis. By the end of the conference, 75 members signed a petition requesting a special conference of the organisation to discuss Ireland and the question of women in education and the union. The petition reflected the frustration of at least a third of the militants at the Conference over the axing of many debates and the prematu ending of the Conference.
A positive feature of the conference was the salaries document written jointly by IS and IMG militants, proposing concrete steps for Rank and File in the London allowance struggle and the national claim. If IS can break with its past there are big chances for building Rank and File. JIM DONOGHUE