Hard left foils NUT reforms

Union democracy: New Labour-style one-member-one-vote is rejected but strike th reat is backed

JUDITH JUDD

Education Editor

Angry teachers yesterday threw out their leader's plans to wrest control of their union from the extreme left.

The National Union of Teachers' annual conference in Cardiff voted by a big majority to scrap proposals by Doug McAvoy, their general secretary, to introduce New Labour-style democracy, with one member, one vote for important policy decisions.

The scheme, thought to be unprecedented in other unions, would have meant conference decisions had be ratified by a ballot of all members.

In a separate debate yesterday, union members threatened strike action over the Government's decision that bad teachers should be named. The conference voted to ballot members over industrial action if teachers were victimised as a result of inspections.

The NUT leaders had tried to change the union's rules on internal democracy after the membership overturned a series of strike decisions taken at last year's conference.

They say that the conference delegates, who are picked at small branch meetings of activists, are increasingly unrepresentative of ordinary members. Conference is the supreme policy- making body.

Mr McAvoy said a ballot of members showed more than 80 per cent of the 38,000 members who voted were in favour of the change. "It is a sad day for the union. There is a conflict between the decision taken by conference and the declared desires of members. They are wishing to keep in their hands the power to determine the union policy and not to represent the views of members."

But opponents of the changes accused Mr McAvoy of "Dougocracy". Gill Goodswen, from Kirklees, said: "We are not opposed to democracy. We are saying no to this oligarchic system being smuggled in through the back door.

"If this is democracy, then it is tick-box democracy. It is an insult to the values of a trade union."

Graham Smith, from Newham, said people had neither the time nor the inclination to attend general meetings.

"When they get there, they are greeted by raucous newspaper sellers. When they get inside, they are subjected to a long harangue by half a dozen sad individuals asking them to waste their money on members of the Socialist Workers' Party."

John Cox, from Cumbria, said the introduction of one member one vote had been instrumental in raising the popularity of the Labour Party.

Dean Rogers, from Hillingdon, said: "We are not living in the age of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky. We are living in the age of mobile phones, computers and the Internet. We can communicate with our members."

The executive suffered a series of defeats on other motions designed to extend democracy.