Can i, should i claim back childcare costs for next weeks Teachers strike ?

Giraffeseeker

Broken_hearted wrote: »

Back to the question we should all sue the union as they called the strike and the individual teachers who voted for it. Teachers wages aren't that bad compared to other sectors.

The point is, industrial action is a legal right that unions have a right to in the UK provided their members vote for it. You can't sue them for it!

Teachers are not taking this action lightly, in my school we only have years 10-13 anyway (we are an upper school) and so 3/4 of the school have examinations coming up, and striking teachers will no doubt put in additional time at lunchtimes/after school to ensure classes don't suffer (unpaid).

You should remember that university lecturers AND support staff were all given a 4.8% raise this month (in line with inflation). You should also remember that any young teachers with student loans will this year be paying 4.8% interest on their student loans, but effectively receiving a cut in pay with only a 2.45% pay increase.

It's not about getting more pay, it's about not getting an effective pay cut. Our students, who cover industrial action in subjects like Citizenship and General Studies, are in favour of the strike and are supportive.

benood

tintingirl wrote: »

It's not about getting more pay, it's about not getting an effective pay cut. Our students, who cover industrial action in subjects like Citizenship and General Studies, are in favour of the strike and are supportive.

But teachers have had effective pay rises for the last ten years (unlike Lecturers I believe) - one "lean" year in 10 when the rest of the economy is going south isn't unreasonable for goodness sake.

I would love to be a fly on the wall in the Citizenship lessons where striking teachers justify withdrawing their labour, doubtless they are completely balanced.:rolleyes:

curtlyb

tintingirl wrote: »

............You should remember that university lecturers AND support staff were all given a 4.8% raise this month (in line with inflation). ............

We're way off topic here but for gods sake lets get some facts
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article3744824.ece
maybe a couple of unions should get together and see who actually is earning what rather than rolling out the "he's getting more than me" mentality literally born from the school playground.
As far as i can find, the average teachers wage is slightly under £32,000, i've seen four or five websites (one being a union one) providing hard evidence of this. That's not a bad wage but obviously everybody would always like a bit more .

Back to topic, i still think either the school or LEA have a responsibility to provide education for the day, i'm still looking for documentary proof :rolleyes:

Broken_hearted

Support staff are on a pitance compare to teachers. Everyone coming out of uni has high levels of debt but teachers are one group who can have student loans written off and a goldern handshake if they go into shortage areas.
As for the students agreeing with you of course they do it's a day off.

gregg1

Broken_hearted wrote: »

Support staff are on a pitance compare to teachers. Everyone coming out of uni has high levels of debt but teachers are one group who can have student loans written off and a goldern handshake if they go into shortage areas.
quote]

Only if they stay in teaching for 10 years. If they leave before that they have to pay it back (on a sliding scale).

gregg1

benood wrote: »

Teachers’ pay has risen sharply over the past decade. An experienced teacher in England and Wales at the top of the pay scale in 1997 received £21,318. Today the salary is at £34,281.

Teachers were awarded a 2.45 per cent rise despite the Prime Minister's decision that a limit of 2 per cent was needed on public sector pay to curb inflationary pressure. The police were awarded an effective 1.9%.

In my opinion teachers need to realise they're not being hammered by this pay offer - their jobs and pensions are safe while the rest of the country is just getting ready for the fallout from the credit crunch - which will no doubt help with teacher recruitment!

Believe me, there are a lot of good teachers earning a lot less than that figure.

Scarlett1

yaye support the NUTs :j

Broken_hearted

gregg1 wrote: »

Broken_hearted wrote: »

Support staff are on a pitance compare to teachers. Everyone coming out of uni has high levels of debt but teachers are one group who can have student loans written off and a goldern handshake if they go into shortage areas.
quote]

Only if they stay in teaching for 10 years. If they leave before that they have to pay it back (on a sliding scale).

How many people would love a job for 10 years!

silvercar

Bottom line is that they are your children and your responsibility to look after them!

You may have expected them to be in school, but the fact that they wont be doesn't mean that you can abdicate that responsibility.

aimee21j

I just wanted to pass comment on a few things that have been mentioned.I wished I was on that figure! Instead of just looking at the increases in 10 years for teaching, we need to look at figures for every similarly paid job to see if that comment is justified.
10 years is a long time and no job is guaranteed. In teaching, we have observations at least three times a year to assess our performance. I didn't get a golden hand shake or my student loan paid off...in fact I am still in the early stages of paying it off.

Support staff aren't paid as much as teachers as the level of training is not as much. They do not have to have a degree then specialist training after. Please don't get me wrong as this is the role in which I started, but the difference in responsibility between the two jobs is immense and I never took work home as a teaching assistant.

Did the fire service come under this much stick when they striked?