teacher's strike

Lotus-eater

Ada_Doom wrote: »

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

Yep, because this one day strike is going to sort it all out. :rotfl:

Maybe the next one day strike after this one will sort it all out, or the next one.
Or........ you could just pee off the half of the UK with children. I wonder which one it will be?.... Ummmm

Debbie_A_3

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Yep, because this one day strike is going to sort it all out. :rotfl:

Maybe the next one day strike after this one will sort it all out, or the next one.
Or........ you could just pee off the half of the UK with children. I wonder which one it will be?.... Ummmm

No I don't think the strike on Wednesday will sort it out. But it will give over a million people the chance to make the point that we are not happy. So much so that we are willing to lose a day's pay over it.

When it comes to my pension, maybe you're right. In the end the government may well end up doing it to me. But I am not going to meekly lie down and let them get on with it.

Debbie

Lotus-eater

And in doing so, you cost a hell of a lot of other people a day's wages as well.

Way to go, that's the best way to get support.

milliebear00001

The government may well get its way over this, but I sure as hell don't have to make it easy for them, or roll over without a fight (which is probably what they expected to happen given that it's been happening like that in the private sector for years).

As for !!!!ing off parents - why should I care? Many, many parents (and consequently their children) have !!!!!! all respect for teachers as it is, so me striking will make no difference to that at all. I am a parent, and a taxpayer, as well as a public sector worker.

Like many people, there are many on this thread who've been hoodwinked into believing this Government cares about fairness or justice, that we're 'all in it together', that there's 'no money in the pot'. It's lies and propaganda.

Hutton clearly stated, only a few years ago, that teachers' pensions were sustainable in the long term and that costs would decrease in the long term. This Government refuses to revalue the Teachers' Pension Scheme to prove, once and for all, that they are right in their assertion that it is not sustainable - for God's sake, wake up and ask yourself why that is.

Poppy9

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Or........ you could just pee off the half of the UK with children. I wonder which one it will be?.... Ummmm

Strangely face to face friends and family have not been unsupportive of strike action

I know strikers with children are helping out friends who are not in the public sector by providing childcare for them.

Generally everyone is peed off about the state of the economy, country etc. but then we are a nation of moaners.

When it snows and schools close, shops shut, buses stop running, we whinge. When heating bills rise we whinge, when we join the queue in the ladies, we whinge, when the train is overcrowded and late, we whinge, when people go on strike, be it public sector or the fuel protesters, we whinge! Trouble is that's all people do, whinge. So many people are all talk, especially on anonymous forums.

Remember that public sector workers are no different to any other sector of society. We are council and income tax payers, voters, drivers, parents, carers etc. Many people work in the public sector because they are dedicated to the provision of good public services, some are along for the ride. Exactly the same in the private sector. You only have to shop in the supermarket to see one sales assistant who is happy to help and one who can barely lift their head to acknowledge you.

I should add we do care how it impacts on non strikers and are particularly mindful of the impact on the ill and vunerable. All essential services will be provided as they have been exempted from strike action.

FATBALLZ

milliebear00001 wrote: »

You appear to be trotting out the same old argument that because most private sector workers don't have a decent pension, public sector workers shouldn't expect to have one either.

Well, I'm sorry that private sector workers have been sold down the river, but this isn't a 'race to the bottom', or some sort of bizarre competition about 'who has the worst working rights'. Private sector workers, working in middle/upper management level roles, for medium/larger companies, always had decent pensions. They allowed themselves to be fleeced by their employers who bleated on about not being able to afford the pension. These companies are making enormous profits and paying huge bonuses to top level management. Private sector workers (and I used to be one) rolled over and allowed that to happen to them, and are now bitter when they see public sector workers refusing to do that.

If you have a crappy pension, while working for Tesco or Barclays - you should ask yourself why, and then give yourself a good kicking for not being unionised, and not standing up for yourself when you had the chance.

On the contrary, you are the one trotting out the same old union line that is the default response to anybody who confronts you with actual maths demonstrating why these pension arrangements have to change.

As for what a 'decent' pension is, that is subjective, given that life expectancy has increased so much and stock market returns and economic growth have been so much less than forecast in the long term, whatever your definition of decent is, if it is the slightest bit realistic it needs to account for these factors. Expecting to get a very high guaranteed return based on negligible input by yourself is not in the least bit realistic.

Ada_Doom

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Yep, because this one day strike is going to sort it all out. :rotfl:

Maybe the next one day strike after this one will sort it all out, or the next one.
Or........ you could just pee off the half of the UK with children. I wonder which one it will be?.... Ummmm

What would your suggestion be? Or perhaps you are happy with the status quo in this country at the moment.

milliebear00001

FATBALLZ wrote: »

On the contrary, you are the one trotting out the same old union line that is the default response to anybody who confronts you with actual maths demonstrating why these pension arrangements have to change.

As for what a 'decent' pension is, that is subjective, given that life expectancy has increased so much and stock market returns and economic growth have been so much less than forecast in the long term, whatever your definition of decent is, if it is the slightest bit realistic it needs to account for these factors. Expecting to get a very high guaranteed return based on negligible input by yourself is not in the least bit realistic.

I am waiting for somebody in Government to show me the 'actual maths' that demonstrates why my teachers' pension has to change. So far they have refused to do so.

Lotus-eater

Ada_Doom wrote: »

What would your suggestion be? Or perhaps you are happy with the status quo in this country at the moment.

Perhaps you are happy hanging yourselves, so the government can prove it can smash the unions?

My suggestion would be to say, thank goodness I have a stable job with a pension. If the grass is so greener here in private working land, come and join us. Oh yes....

VestanPance

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Perhaps you are happy hanging yourselves, so the government can prove it can smash the unions?

My suggestion would be to say, thank goodness I have a stable job with a pension. If the grass is so greener here in private working land, come and join us. Oh yes....

So you'd rather we paid less and got lower quality employees to educate the children of the nation? What other options for negotiation do they have? None sadly.

Anyone who believes the government hype over public sector pensions is an idiot or a conservative idealist. How much publicity has been given to the millions taken out these funds by successive governments? Did you not know that little legal loophole that's been abused for decades? How many times do we hear of the numerous schemes that actually are self sufficient? The biggest trick they play is to say that the 'fund' is short, when there is no one fund. The second trick is to rely on peoples stupidity to want public sector workers to get the same dire pensions us private sector workers get.

You really do have to be short on thinking to think increasing pension poverty in the future is a valuable short term economy fix worth implementing.