teacher's strike

milliebear00001

picnmix wrote: »

I'm really stuck on this one, I am a member of a striking union - NHS, have 1 DD at school - the school will be closing, but I really cannot afford a day off work, if I don't go in on Wednesday it will hit us really hard, I work strange hours and the day will cost me a third of my weeks wage. I have childcare already sorted as have a preschooler. My manager has asked for anyone working to cover others away - this is something that I am not willing to do, if I do go to work I will do my own job, but not cover anyone who is striking. My DH has said to do what I think is right, in my heart I think supporting my colleagues who are striking is the right thing to do, but my head is screaming at me - what the hell will you do come the end of the month when you don't have enough money to last. One of my colleagues gave me a bit a of a lecture about why I should be striking, which I fully understand, but as Weds is her day off I'm not sure she has made the decision to march will the same feelings that I am still struggling with. Sorry for the waffel - but really really struggling to come to a decision and am now getting nervous about the repercussions of not striking. I know this is not what this thread is about and know that no-one else can make up my mind for me - just got it off my chest I suppose - please don't shoot me down in flames.

Have you contacted your union? They have a hardship fund for those who will be in dire straits through striking. It's worth a try.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

eezer wrote: »

In my circumstances I choose to make current sacrifices in other areas in the apparently mistaken belief that I would have paid in enough over the years to have a comfortable retirement.

But I think you are perhaps really missing the point of this industrial action. Most public sector workers are not going to get fat cat pensions. According to the TUC, the average pension in local government is approx £4,000. These are people in normal jobs with normal lives, struggling with pay freezes, increased fuel prices etc etc just like their private sector colleagues. They choose to save some of their salary for retirement yet more and more is demanded from them. There's 29 unions (I think) out next Wednesday. This isn't some militant action but a genuine anger/concern about the incessant squeeze on hard working, normal people.

You really aren't listening, are you?

Other people CANNOT AFFORD to lose pay and they are going to because YOU CAN. Other people get paid less and CANNOT AFFORD to make any pension contributions whilst you are striking because you don't like the entitlements being changed - but you still can afford to contribute and you will still be getting a pension. Plenty of people in the country cannot choose to save out of their salary/wages because they cannot afford to.


I was a UNISON member. I am quite capable of differentiating between an A&C2's salary and pension provision compared to someone at 5 and above (and yes, I know A4C changed the descriptors, but that's the version I knew).

I was lucky that I never got called out, as that would have meant I would have had to choose between the rent, childcare or putting the heating on. I grew up believing you never screwed with the Union or you would be ******ed for being a scab. My brother still goes on strike at Royal Mail whenever he is told because the repercussions would be horrendous.


Preaching about how self sacrificing you are for being able to pay your rent/mortgage and pay pension contributions is not going to garner much sympathy.

Which is my point. I agree it is wrong to muck about with the pensions, I wasn't even happy about it going to a 37.5 hour week, as my income went down as a result, but there is no way I would ever have told someone else they didn't understand what my life was like.



But, by all means, carry on as you are - you're giving Cameron all the ammunition he needs to turn the public completely against all Unions and then it's a short step to destroying them.

Kay_Peel

I value and support you, public sector workers. Without you the private sector wouldn't exist and the UK would be a very different place. We take the services so much for granted - the army, the police, social care, medical care, libraries, schools, border controls, prisons ... the list is endless.

The negotiating team of Government ministers are the ones with the bloated 'gold-plated' pensions - not the PCSOs, care assistants and mental health nurses. I learn that it would take an average public sector worker 124 years to achieve the same pension as Local Government Minister, Eric Pickles (if he retires at the next election - you'd have to work more years if he doesn't). It would take two working lifetimes to achieve the pension of Treasury Minister Danny Alexander and three working lifetimes to get Francis Maude's. They're alright then! These are the people who question the validity of strike action because of the low turn-out - but the turn-out for elections can be considerably lower, so they can't have it both ways. These are the people who won't honour the contracts made with public sector workers - and they deserve to be treated with suspicion.

Good luck and thank you for what you do for me, my family and my country.

bylromarha

Janepig wrote: »

I don't personally know any union members who are not striking, teachers or otherwise - I think most, if not all, the schools and colleges around here are shut. I don't know that there's going to be much in the way of pickets or demos either. I'm definitely not picketing, neither is DH. We're spending the day blitzing the house ready for Christmas, so at least it will be productive.

Jx

Ditto. Not belonging to a union, I chose to teach on Wednesday.

However, EVERY other teacher and all teaching assistants bar 3 in our large primary school is striking. Those 3 TA are not in unions. No-one in the school voted in their unions ballots. But they are all strinking in solidarity as they take the same view as you. All for one, one for all.

So I go in to sort out my classroom and get on with odd bits, and get paid as risk assessment has said my class and I alone in school is unsafe. The other staff get to get told off by the head on Thursday as she's expecting them to join her on the city march - she's firmly of the view that if you strike you should voice your feelings rather than be silent at home. The younger single, no kids teachers have firmly refused to go and picket as they've already made arrangements to meet up with their mates and have a fun day out.

milliebear00001

bylromarha wrote: »

Ditto. Not belonging to a union, I chose to teach on Wednesday.

However, EVERY other teacher and all teaching assistants bar 3 in our large primary school is striking. Those 3 TA are not in unions. No-one in the school voted in their unions ballots. But they are all strinking in solidarity as they take the same view as you. All for one, one for all.

So I go in to sort out my classroom and get on with odd bits, and get paid as risk assessment has said my class and I alone in school is unsafe. The other staff get to get told off by the head on Thursday as she's expecting them to join her on the city march - she's firmly of the view that if you strike you should voice your feelings rather than be silent at home. The younger single, no kids teachers have firmly refused to go and picket as they've already made arrangements to meet up with their mates and have a fun day out.

It is their prerogative to do that, as they are unpaid and not working. I will be attending the march in my nearest city, but wouldn't expect others to do the same - some will have childcare issues of their own etc. The point of the day is to withdraw labour - not march.

Lotus-eater

Janepig wrote: »

Obviously, being part of a union I have to accept that I will be on strike next Wednesday, but tbh I'm fuming about it. Me and DH both losing a day's pay for something that'll get us absolutely nowhere. The government aren't going to change their minds on this and more than anything it's just the unions kicking against the Condems. Political pawns is what we are.

Spot on. Amazes me people can't see this.

You're all pawns and you're never going to win, you can't because they haven't GOT the money to give you.

Read this, think it's rubbish, then come back in a while and see it's true, that's when you've finished alienating half the population with truly pointless strikes.

thegirlintheattic

ultimatedingbat wrote: »

As a trainee teacher we have lectures cancelled. PErsonally while I support the whole idea of strike, it is a big issue for us when they then turnaround and say of your time table is too full to get these missed lectures back in. Thanks, so what are we paying the money for.

PCGE courses all have additional days built in, generally the last day of half-terms and the last week of the course to fit in missed sessions. IMHO nothing I ever did in ITT lectures couldn't have been put in a powerpoint on the VLE - and learnt from there.

Poppy9

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Spot on. Amazes me people can't see this.

You're all pawns and you're never going to win, you can't because they haven't GOT the money to give you.

Read this, think it's rubbish, then come back in a while and see it's true, that's when you've finished alienating half the population with truly pointless strikes.

So should we (as in the electorate) never protest when we disagree with what the Govt. does. Were the Poll Tax protesters wrong? What about Students protesting about rising fees?

While the strike may not achieve the desired outcome it does convey the strength of feeling against Govt. proposals. If we sit back and do nothing then the Govt. has free reign to introduce whatever they want to any sector of society, be it private or public.

Public Sector workers are tax payers, life long tax payers. Withholding our labour is our only form of protest that truely conveys the strength of feeling to the Govt.

Do the Govt. care? only at election time but with so many electors unwilling to exercise their right to vote change in Govt. is slow

Lotus-eater

Poppy9 wrote: »

So should we (as in the electorate) never protest when we disagree with what the Govt. does. Were the Poll Tax protesters wrong? What about Students protesting about rising fees?

While the strike may not achieve the desired outcome it does convey the strength of feeling against Govt. proposals. If we sit back and do nothing then the Govt. has free reign to introduce whatever they want to any sector of society, be it private or public.

Public Sector workers are tax payers, life long tax payers. Withholding our labour is our only form of protest that truely conveys the strength of feeling to the Govt.

Do the Govt. care? only at election time but with so many electors unwilling to exercise their right to vote change in Govt. is slow

Of course you can protest. Go on a march on your day off. Stop annoying other people. You don't annoy the government, they must be rubbing their hands at what you are doing, you're playing right into their hands.

Poll tax, wrong. Students, right.

Ada_Doom

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Spot on. Amazes me people can't see this.

You're all pawns and you're never going to win, you can't because they haven't GOT the money to give you.

Read this, think it's rubbish, then come back in a while and see it's true, that's when you've finished alienating half the population with truly pointless strikes.

The Hutton report showed our pensions were sustainable.

The government has just sold northern rock to Branson at a 500 million loss. Philip Green and his like evade paying tax and so screw our country out of 95 billion pounds per year. The "war" in Afghanistan costs us 12 million per day.

The money is there, PR man Dave has done a good job with the complient British media and made the uk public think there is no money and we are all in it together.

This is rubbish. The tories want to tear our public services apart. I think in 20 years time we will look back at the NHS and other great public services and kick ourselves if we let them destroy them.

Get out, march, get angry, and don't believe the lies that you are fed.