Sheila Caffrey, NEU national executive (personal capacity)
Following a massive positive response by members of the National Education Union (NEU) in the online consultation, a formal industrial ballot – which is postal – is now under way, extended to 14 January to enable maximum returns of ballot papers while there are postal strikes. Members and reps should strive to get as many ballot papers back as possible before the Christmas break.
It is vital that everyone votes and votes ‘yes’, to get over the anti-democratic Tory thresholds and to send a strong message to the government. Bold national action has huge potential power. School staff can join with nurses, university staff, postal and rail workers, and the many more workers striking. The massive EIS teachers’ strike in Scotland and the NEU strike in sixth forms are a taste of the potential power of determined action.
The NEU executive met on 25 November to discuss our campaign.
Socialist Party members have spent a year campaigning on the executive for serious national action. We then had the explosive summer of strikes of rail, postal and BT workers, showing that winning national ballots is possible and unions can fight, which raised confidence.
The NEU leadership then put out clear material on why we should fight and education workers were enthused. Successive cuts to pay over a decade; funding slashed in schools; inflation at 12% (now over 14%); energy and food bills making education workers question if they would heat or eat this winter. Join with the other unions on the picket lines in national action and we can win!
The long ballot period means we have to keep up a lively campaign of meetings, rallies, strong material and detailed campaigning, contacting all members. Education workers, like all workers, work long hours and are tired; in a long ballot period they can become worried by the right-wing media’s bile and about the next pay cheque. We have to campaign to re-win the arguments, to explain that if we don’t fight, the government will come back for more savage cuts, and encourage education staff that they too have the power that they see on other unions’ picket lines.
Part of building the vote is putting forward a bold programme of action that members can have confidence in.
It is vital that we strive to coordinate with other unions. EIS, RMT, Aslef, UCU, CWU and the RCN all have live national ballots. But that doesn’t mean that we can only take national action alongside others. If the NEU puts out a fighting, rallying cry, it will have a bigger effect on other education unions.
The union leadership should also launch a mass appeal for donations to strike funds, to help give confidence to members who are worried about losing money.
We need a strong, socialist leadership in our union that will build the strength of the membership below, while leading and motivating from the top. In the elections two years ago, five Socialist Party members were elected to the executive as members wanted a strong, fighting voice. We will continue to lay out a plan that could win against this government, and continue to build the NEU as a fighting force to win for educators and education. Vote ‘yes’ in the strike ballot and let’s build the strongest fightback possible!
