week for all those in the union. settlement from local authority workers.
It is not the case that NUPE members were unwilling fight on for the full claim Taking the votes in the pay calot in osal, a majority 17,793 rejected the offer.
the local stewards organisation is strong, as in Liverpool and parts of London, strikes authority workers are continuin Earlier on, determined local leadership won a big victory in Camden.
It is the lack of any national orgamsanon winn Ene union able to bring together these strands of opposition which has let Fisher off the hook year atter year.
How else could Fisher ignore ine rejection by NUPE's national executive of the offer he had negotiated and get away with it?
How else could he afford to ignore the fact that London, with 100,000 members, voted two to one to reject the local authority offer - and get away with it?
Although there is a growing shop stewards movement within NUPE and the public THE MANDATE from NUPE's annual conference for this year's pay claim was quite clear. The demand was to be for a £60 basic minimum wage and a 35-hour A common settlement date was a central demand, allowing the united strength of the union's 700,000 members, together with the half million public sector workers in other unions, to be swung behind the claim.
But once again, Alan Fisher has been able to make a deal with the government, ballot his members section by section, and gain acceptance for the 9 per cent organised areas remain isolated to from each other and unable to prepare co-ordinated action-on crucial issues such as the annual wage claim.
The executive's rejection of shop the offer stemmed from a fear of losing their elected positions if they local had voted otherwise.
But because there was no organised nationa movement for all-out strike action, the executive was happy to reject the offer without finning the full strate. forward strategy The big problem they faced was unar sucn a call would nave meant challenging the Concordat with low pay to Fisher had just signature.
Instead of this collaboration, alternative policies fought for by workers' action were needed beat low Ddy carve-up of the welfare state.
NUPE GOes alternative economic policy, embracing calls for re-investin together with import controls and sundry nationalisation.
But none of this gives a lead toe coker Nor 1s one pe and the cuts. attempt by the left leadership to mobilise members around their programme and against Callaghan and Healey.
DCIC Because the union has "radical cconomic programmac and a general secretary who makes fiery speeches at Labour Party conferences, munist Party says there is no need to organise a Broad Left in NUPE.
Instead the CP has a policy of sending recruiting them middle-ranking ficials — a policy which gives no scope SIOT opposition when Fisher kowputting tows to the government.
for The task opposition falls to the far left working alongside who are carrying forward the self-organisation of the rank which and file in the shop stewards added his committees.
Simply linking up a series of strong shop stewards committees is not sufficient.
It was militancy which prevented the local authority have an ning, but the lack of alternative policies for winning the claim and convincing the memberindustry, ship that the money could be found to pay without causing massive cuts in services. is there 21861 1 alternative if a broad-based, NO At its first national meeting 18 months ago, the Campaign for Action in NUPE identified arcas class struggle policies need to be formulated democra tically run opposition is to be These were pay policy, cuts, rights, and trade union democracy.
producing pamphlet on the strike which will be used to build a national supporters' meeting within the It is hoped to hold a national NUPE in the autumn.
It is also planned to launch NUPE Against the Nazis from the London divisional council. I to take on Fisher.
Campaigns on issues such as these, through which militants will be able to actively oppose the leadership, will provide the basis for building an opposition