Teachers and the rest of the voters have no part in drafting them. They are put forward only as an inducement for the electorate to put a cross by a party's name. The pledges made by the government last time were part of this con-trick. The last election pledges were about making funding dependent on increasing standards, meaning that exploitation of teachers must be a pre-condition. The needs of big business are translated into adding value to pupils' education so that they are useful in the world of work after school.
Teaching is seen as the most necessary element as an important generator of labour power.
Amounts of money have in fact been handed over in large quantities to technology companies and building contractors who have extorted massive amounts of cash out of education expenditure. Nothing has been done for the morale or welfare of teachers, who have received only added workload and stress. Teachers cannot and will not accept themselves as expendable fodder, they are in fact turning the tables and expressing their views on a whole number of political issues such as what kind of education system is needed in a modern society. Teachers want progress and are asserting themselves in the process to help establish the necessary renewal of the political system for a modern society suitable for the 21st century. MSF Condemns Marconi over 1,500 Job Losses MSF, the union for skilled and professional people and the lead union in Marconi, has reacted angrily to Tuesday's announcement by Marconi of its intention to make 1,500 workers redundant in Britain.