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Tilbury dockers, fighting for a £29 increase in basic rates, have been promised solidarity action by 2,000 riverside dockers in London if they vote tomorrow (Thursday) to The pay demand centres on parity with white collar stai on the docks, whose basic rate is £135. A solid strike coul halt supplies of newsprint as well as containers and steel DOZENS of parents and several pupils and teachers from the Nechells Junior School and nursery confronted Keith: Joseph when he visited Birmingham on Friday 18 March.

Joseph was visiting three Birmingham schools but had arrogantly ignored the debate parents' invitation to visit Nechels, by Birmingham's threatened with closure Tory counch.

"We received no reply to our request so we decided to bring the school and its problems to Sir Keith" said parent/governor Carol Walker, one of the protest organisers.

The Nechells Action Committee have produced a well-researched document arguing the case against closure. "Nechells School is the focal point of the community, with its annexe building now a community centre. It has a warm and pleasant atmosphere and a loyal and dedicated stati The community is involved in both Christian and Muslim festivals celebrated at the school the government report states that Nechells is the third most deprived area in England. It has the highest proportion of unemployed in England and it has the highest proportion of single parent families in Birmingham."

They stress that the closure would be particularly unfair on Muslim families.

"If Nechells School is closed, the only non-denominational school for the whole area will be Cronwell Street. This would create a severe imbalance between the 1170 places avalabie in denominational church schools and the 380 places available in non-denominational local authority schools"

Meanwhile. parents Margaret Newbold and Kathy Barnes, are contin uing their occupation of the school staffroom and the Nechells Action Committee is campaigning for suppert in ia labour and bade smen -remen: the -thos mingham.

"We deplore the uncaring hard-nosed attitude of the Tory adminstration on the City Council" say Margaret and Kathy. "The decision reached by the Education Committee was unfair, immoral and damaging to local democracy. The decision was made purely on party political lines with no concern for the children, parents or residents of Nechells."

Messages of support to, and details of the campaign from: Nechells Action Committee, o Brockley Place, Nechells, Birmingham 7. THERE was a blunder in the brief biography of Marx we carried last week. It said that the Paris Commune lasted for nine months. It was nine weeks.

In Socialist Organiser of March 3, in our report on the labour movement 'Ban the Plastic Bullets' conference, we wrote: 'The conference heard from Brent East CLP, who hope to select Ken Livingstone and want support from the proRepublican left"

While we may agree with the sentiment expressed, the delegate was obviously stating a personal opinion and not any agreed position of the CLP. Brent East CLP is still waiting to be given the go-abead by the NEC to start the selection process, and we would wish to avoid making statement which could be used to further delay this. er DLPs. Contact: Frances Done, Manchester City Labour Party, Hulme Labour Club, 1 Stoneylow Close, Manchester M15. EL SALVADOR Solidarity Campaign: Labour Movement conference, Saturday May 14, 10am to 5pm, County Hall, London SEI. Credentials £2 from ESSC, 29 Islington Park St, London N1.

LABOUR Committee on Ireland Annual General Meeting: Saturday April 23, 10am to 5pm at County Hall, London SE1. Resolutions to be submitted by April 8. Con tact: LCI, BM Box 5355, London WCIN 3XX.

HARINGEY Labour Committee on Ireland. Public meeting "Why Labour needs to speak to Sinn Fein' . Speaker: Steve Bundred (GLC] and Geoff Bell [LCI]. 7.30pm on Thursday 14 April at Brabant Road Trade Union and Community Centre, off Station Rd., N22.

TROTSKYISM or Castroism: a pamphlet analysing the move away from the Trotskyist theory of permanent revolution by the Socialist Workers' Party of the USA. Published by the Trotskyist International Liaison Committee: 40p plus postage from PO Box 135, London N10DD.

Labour Campaign for Gay Rights, National Conference on "The Fight in the Labour Movement for Lesbian and Gay Malè Rights' '. Saturday 9 April, 11-5, Shepherd's Hall, Old Market Street, Bristol. Creche Details: phone Bristol 63420 OUT NOW! 'The Death Agony of the Fourth International and the Tasks of Trotskyists Today'. A new book from Workers Power Irish Workers Group. 120 pages, £1.85 including pus age. From; Box 7750 BCN WCIN 3XX or left book shops.