Steve Whitley, lecturer at Northumberland College of Education. has won his fight against victimisation. The meeting of the College Board of Governors on 9 April decided to lift his suspension and to reinstate him to his former post as senior resident tutor. A fine of one day's pay was imposed on Whitley, presumably as punishment' for his presence on the picket lines during the NUS day of action on 14 March.
MILITANT CAMPAIGN The decision io reinstate Whitley was not a simple triumph for constitutional methods but was a direct result of the campaign fought by the student militants and the local Steve Whitley Defence Committee. As soon as Whitley was dismissed from his post as resident tutor the more militant students began to argue for action to secure his reinstatement. Opposition to this came from three groups: right-wing students, apolitical students and part of the liberal wing. Many of the rightwing students welcomed his dismissal pointing out his membership of the IMG. They and the apoliticals were also horrified at the prospect of strikes and occupations, claiming that it would get the college a bad name and 'affect their future careers'. Some of the liberals claimed that the College Principal had acted in an unconstitutional manner and thus the attempt to get him reinstated should be conducted in a purely legal way.
The militants rejected these views, pointing out that Whitley's dismissal would strengthen the hand of the Principal and encourage the most reactionary lecturers in their attempts to strengthen college discipline. They explained that by occupying the Administration Block they would not only disrupt the College but encourage students and lecturers in other colleges to take supporting action. Furthermore only such action could inspire any campaign amongst trades unionists who were hardly likely to act in defence of Whitley if students of the college were passively accepting his victimisation.
SUPPORT This position was fully justified in practice. Even though only a minority of students occupied the Administration Block it evoked messages of support from over 30 colleges the universities had already closed for the vacation - and received the support of the NUS executive. backed by a resolution at the NUS Conference. Academics throughout the country signed petitions demanding his reinstatement, many of which called on the NUT and ATTI to black' the college if his dismissal was confirmed.
Recognising that some members of the Board of Governors had connections with the trade unions and local Labour parties, the Defence Committee campaigned inside the local unions and Labour parties for support. Branches of NALGO. NUPE etc. went on record for his reinstatement. The Newcastle Trades Council carried a motion of support and circulated its affiliated organisations on the case. The South Shields Trades Council not only came out in clear support but sent their banner and pickets to the Board of Governors' meeting. Some people had argued that this activity might alienate some of the more "progressive" members of the Board. But the Defence Committee correctly saw that what would move these people was an open demonstration that the trade union and labour movement would not tolerate any complicity on their part in Whitley's projected victimisation. By refusing to let the case be tied to legal manoeuvres alone, and thus isolated in the rooms of secret committee meetings, the Defence Committee ensured that the maximum pressure was brought to bear against the authorities and thus laid the basis for Whitley's reinstatement. company's manoeuvres by demanding an equal pay rise for all - two pounds fifty across the board, in addition to whatever the company have already offered the day workers. The issues in this dispute are clear. The first is that the unions are having to fight against the notion that the worse paid workers in the factory should get a rise at the expense of the better paid workers, and also against the principle of wage cuts in general. Secondly, they are fighting against the attempts of the company to introduce a thinly-disguised scheme of partial measured day work. And thirdly, they are fighting an attempt to by-pass and sabotage the strong union organisation in the factory.
These issues are of vital concern to all workers in the car industry, and in the engineering industry in general. That is why it is essential that Rubery Owen should receive maximum solidarity from the whole car industry, including those factories laid-off as a result of the dispute; and that is why the Rubery Owen workers must be successful in this strike.
All messages of solidarity to: Strike Committee, Labour Party Club, Bentley, nr. Darleston, Staffs. On Tuesday, 27 March, Women's Liberation members of the National Family Allowance Campaign held a day of action focussing on pickets of post offices in towns all over the country, to draw attention to the Government's proposals to reorganise the tax system. In several places militant occupations of post offices took place in Lancaster, for examplc, where six people were arrested. In Colchester, the Women's Liberation Group picketed five of the town's post offices and distributed over 10,000 leaflets explaining the implications of the proposed tax system.
The proposed Tax Credit System is an attempt by the government to rationalise the tax system. Instead of assessing cach individual's rate of taxation everyone earning over £8 a week or receiving unemployment benefit (but not the self-employed or students) will be taxed at a rate of 30% of their income and then receive in their wage packet a number of credits according to their circumstances single or married, how many children, and so on. The automatic, non-means-tested, right to family allowance will be replaced by "child credits"
The Campaign is fighting not only for family allowances to be retained but that they should be increased and extended to first children as well. As the campaigners point out, whether the child credits go to the mother or father is largely irrelevant what matters is that family allowances are kept as the statutory and independent right of every mother and are not absorbed into the tax system.
The introduction of a means-tested "credit" system tied to wages has serious implications for the whole of the working class. Not only will many women lose that last shred of financial independence and become even more dependent on their husbands to maintain the family unit which serves to oppress them, but the whole struggle of the working class could be held back by the fact of the husband's increased responsibility as breadwinner and financial prop to the family.
These implications must be understood and taken up by the trade union movement. It must be included in the activities of Trades Councils and local committees campaigning against the Tories policies in the build up to May Ist and afterwards. The Family Allow ance Committee are planning to take part in the May Day demonstration. This must not remain at the level of a joint protest - as projected by the TUC - but must be extended into the fight against the Government and all its anti-working class policies.
CROMPTON PARKINSON STRIKE The management's attempts to destroy the unity of Arab, Pakistani and white workers at the Crompton Parkinson factory in Newport has failed. The manage. ment had tried to manipulate the shift system in one department from three into two, thus producing a pool of surplus labour which was to have been laid off. When management refused to negotiate on this, the workers responded by immediate strike action.