teachers to go on strike

[Mum2Alfie]

Hundreds of thousands of teachers have voted for strike action. 300,000 members of the two biggest unions the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), and the National Union of Teachers (NUT) voted "overwhelmingly" for a walkout in a row over pensions, firing the starting gun for a summer of strikes.

The NUT's executive will meet on Wednesday to discuss the results. The final decision on whether the union will stage a walkout rests with the executive.

"This is a warning shot across the bows to the government," said Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of ATL.

The strike is against a planned large increase to pension contributions. Teachers say plans will will leave them working longer, paying more and receiving less when they retire.

Andy Brown, the ATL president, said an average teacher’s annual pension was £10,000.

“Teachers and lecturers feel totally betrayed by the government," he said.

"When we all started teaching we accepted the deal to work for less than friends in other degree-level professions, in return for receiving a modest but secure pension. No way do we have gold-plated pensions.

“Teachers and lecturers do not live in ivory towers. We are only too well aware of the current economic problems and the financial hardships many people are suffering because many of the families of the children we teach are suffering too and we are feeling the pain ourselves."

Unless negotiations go well strike action will take place after summer and Government officials now fear any proposed action could cause schools to send classes home or close altogether leading to fears children will be turned away after the forthcoming break.

Read more here:

Teachers to bring school chaos after 'overwhelming' strike vote - Telegraph

What do you think personally I am fuming! So selfish! How dare they strike at such a crutial stage in childrens lives! I wouldnt mind if EVERYONE got the great pention paid by the government, but they dont! They should think themselves bloody lucky to get anything at all! Greedy and selfish! I am getting sick of the public sector! They get it too easy and cry when they have to fall in line with everyone else!! Police have taken a lower crash than them dont see them crying over it!!

 

[Mum2Alfie]

Wow noone have an opinion on this?

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I dont really understand it all tbh I hate strikes!

 

[Nibblenic]

I personally think that they have every right to walk out and for as long as they like.

They do an amazing job. They dont not get paid well enough. They put up with endless pressure, endless abuse and extreamly little thanks.

They are not a vital service. No one is going to die if they go on stirke.

I think if you were looking for a debate on this subect. There is a debate section further down. I only happened across it cos I wanted to know the going rate for the tooth fairy lol. Bet she gets paid more than teachers

 

[Cattia]

As a teacher myself I can tell you this action is not taken lightly. To say teachers are greedy and selfish shows a total lack of understanding of the profession. Teachers work incrediby hard for their students, most work over 12 hours a day and are also working at weekends, evenings, and in their 'long' holidays. People who don't teach seem to think we finish work at 3 and lounge around all summer. Whatever you think of the pension issue, you might want to be a little less rude about the people who are working in under funded and under resourced schools bending over backwards to educate your kids. if you're so sick of the public sector why not send your kids to private school and take out private health insurance, then you have the right to criticise.

 

[hellohefalump]

My husband (teacher) works long hours for little pay (no paid overtime etc even though he's often home well into the night), and now they're going to reduce their pensions!

Teachers should be valued, and paid accordingly. They do an amazing job.

If they want to strike, that's fine by me I support that.

 

[Cattia]

Maybe my last post was a little aggressive, I didn't mean it to be, at the end of the day the OP is entitled to an opinion. It's just really hard to have someone implying that teachers don't care about our students when our students' education means everything to us and we work so hard for them, it's like someone calling you a lazy selfish parent

 

[Tigerlily01]

.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I think teachers do a fab job. Not sure if our school is striking or not yet.

 

[Foogirl]

I have every respect for teachers, and understand they do work hard. I have many friends who are teachers and all of them do end up working late and stuff. The McCrone deal went some way to helping them and they have latterly seen some better payrise agreements - but obviously it is never enough!

But, we all have to take our share of this nightmare and it is the turn of the public sector at the moment.

My industry is decimated, I took a pay cut over three years ago and haven't had a payrise since. Our pensions have long since been reduced - it was one of the first things the company did. Work load has increased as we have reduced staff because of cutbacks, and that's on top of a job that already had me doing overtime to keep up (unpaid I might add) Frankly I'm lucky to still have a job and on top of all that is the stress I might be made redundant any day. If Abby were in school and I was faced with having to take time off because of a teacher strike, I would be very upset as it would put my job further at risk. Who would you lay off, the bloke sitting next to me who doesn't need to take time off, or me who would need to use parental leave or unpaid leave to look after a child?

I'm not a fan of the "private v public sector" debate as I think we are all just people trying to make a living. But it is getting harder not to get angry when I see public sector workers constantly threatening strike action when some of us have been dealing with the pain for quite some time. We take the view that if our company hadn't made the cuts, it would no longer exist. Public sector workers do have the luxury of knowing their employer will never go bust! I would wonder, if the money we need to find isn't coming from pensions, where should it come from? Salary?

 

[lesleyann]

See my friend is a teacher and is with the ATL but is not striking however i would not blame her if she did, she just got back from a school trip with 4 other teacher where she was the only one up in the morning and doing all the work shes done pretty much 7fulls days with students with only8hours sleep!! Yes her pay is ok but its nothing compared to how long they work shes at school by7am some days she does not leave till8pm then has work to mark at home!!

 

[~KACI~]

Teachers actually make less than most other professionals with the same level of education, and yet they put up laughably low salaries, abuse from students, parents, administration, public, etc., as well as having their salaries posted in newspapers to inflame the public (as a child of teachers I can tell you that these figures are ALWAYS inflated...they make less than you realize). I totally support the teachers in this. Sorry!

Agree with this

Are school is closed nxt thursday

 

[Foogirl]

Teachers actually make less than most other professionals with the same level of education, and yet they put up laughably low salaries, abuse from students, parents, administration, public, etc., as well as having their salaries posted in newspapers to inflame the public (as a child of teachers I can tell you that these figures are ALWAYS inflated...they make less than you realize). I totally support the teachers in this. Sorry!

Agree with this

Are school is closed nxt thursday

Are you a teacher?

 

[~KACI~]

Teachers actually make less than most other professionals with the same level of education, and yet they put up laughably low salaries, abuse from students, parents, administration, public, etc., as well as having their salaries posted in newspapers to inflame the public (as a child of teachers I can tell you that these figures are ALWAYS inflated...they make less than you realize). I totally support the teachers in this. Sorry!

Agree with this

Are school is closed nxt thursday

Are you a teacher?

lol no sorry looks like i'm implying that written down though
I meant the childrens school

 

[sleepinbeauty]

I'm training to be a teacher and I'm very surprised there haven't been MORE strikes.

 

[babyno9]

I don't mind about the teacher's striking, it's only one day afterall!

 

[Foogirl]

I don't mind about the teacher's striking, it's only one day afterall!

That's how it started in the mid 80s when we ended up on three day weeks for months. Severely disrupted my brother's "o-grade" education. Luckily I was still in primary school, but my mum had to give up work because of it.

 

[Cattia]

It is the first industrial action in over yen years. The culture now is very different from the eighties so I doubt we will see a return to those days. Teachers really do prioritize students' education and will only strike when all other lines of negotiation have failed. When the firemen striked over pay everyone was very supportive of them even though it put lives at risk (I did support them on this too) but I think some parents are just annoyed at the fact that a day without school is an inconvenience to them. Some parents complain when school is closed for staff training because they see it as free childcare which is not the role of school at all.

 

[xxembobxx]

I don't mind about the teacher's striking, it's only one day afterall!

That's how it started in the mid 80s when we ended up on three day weeks for months. Severely disrupted my brother's "o-grade" education. Luckily I was still in primary school, but my mum had to give up work because of it.

I was at school when my teachers striked. We didn't get reports that year as the teachers refused to do any extra work. It made me think they didn't care about my education and I ended up not caring as much.
I don't doubt teaching is hard (I don't think I could do it) but I am sick of hearing how hard teachers work. My partner works 60+ hours a week to make ends meet. He doesn't get a pension or a pay rise every year.
I can understand public sector workers are aggrieved at all the goodies they are going to miss out on now but when I have my daughter telling me her teacher is moaning they will have to work til 65 then I don't take it too well I'll have to work til I'm 67 probably longer. I don't have the option to go o strike though. I work or I don't. And if I don't like my job I get another one - simples.

 

[xxembobxx]

I think some parents are just annoyed at the fact that a day without school is an inconvenience to them. Some parents complain when school is closed for staff training because they see it as free childcare which is not the role of school at all.

Free childcare? I pay taxes!!! How is that free?!
The role of school isn't to provide childcare but it is to provide a learning environment for children Monday to Friday for two thirds of the year.
Protest in the summer holidays if you must - or does that mean teachers will have to forego some of the numerous holidays they get?