| [Education For Tomorrow: No 95, 2008] Professional unity When will we stop stacking the cards in the Government's favour? Whoever heard in recent years of a union accepting a pay cut? The police have indicated that, despite not being legally allowed to strike, they are not taking a pay cut (a rise less than inflation) lying down. What of teachers? The National Union of Teachers (NUT) is to ballot for a one-day strike. Will it be successful? We hope so, because the cost of failure will be significant. It would give the Government a green light for its policy of pay reduction and it would set back resistance across the profession. What of the other teachers’ unions? They are wisely taking a measure of their members’ preparedness to take action. It is no use calling for action, no matter how justified, if members won't heed the call. Hopefully, all their members will, as over pensions, be prepared to take united action. Such a display of unity and determination was enough to defeat the Government on that issue. But what of a scenario where questionnaires and sampling of members of the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers (NAS/UWT) and the Association of Teachers & Lecturers (ATL) show that majorities of their memberships are not, or not yet, prepared to take action? And what if NUT members are prepared to strike and members of the other unions are not? This might be rectified within a short time frame but it might not. The division of our profession into different unions allows and increases the risk of division in our ranks over fighting cuts in our standard of living. One organisation would enable us to judge the mood of the whole membership — virtually all the profession — and act when all or nearly all are ready for action. There is immense strength within this unity. We are presently far from this situation and our woes will continue and multiply until we achieve unity. Without professional unity it will be that much harder to defeat the privatisation of the management of state education. The merger of the further and higher education unions into the University & College Union shows what can be achieved. Any difficulties accompanying merger will be short-term and far outweighed by the long-term benefit of unity. One education union would bring real strength. Unfortunately it is as far away as it has been for some time due to the divisions government achieved over social partnership. We need to get back to trade union basics. We have to walk before we can run, but at present we are shambling and not even walking. Fortunately, nothing lasts forever and the darkest night is followed by a new dawn. Hank Roberts |