im so anxious about threats to cut ctc...

I think there is a difference between a private company being unable to pay pensions for a limited number of people and the government choosing to cut the pensions of every public sector worker.( As hard as is it - my husband has had huge changes to his pension.)

Changes have been made to teacher pensions for entrants from 2005/6 I think. The burden will decrease.

They can have the ones you said were planning to leave...

They will still need teachers vesela. Unless they are planning on doing the teaching as well.

Sorry am feeling think too tired's post is above.

anyway, if the teachers strike, then at least now parents will be allowed to set up their own schools.

I don't know where tootired has posted sorry.

Vesela I suspect I have no choice in the matter, if they want to change the conditions of my employment after 12 years I guess they can.

The only choice I have is to change jobs, which I probably will.

hornofplenty - did tootired know what she was signing up for? She has to accept change - why can't you?

Right have googled that and suspect I am talking bollocks, strike the comment I am topping up my wine.

This is about all public sector pensions but I can only talk as a teacher. I am sure I read somewhere that teachers tend to die quite quickly after retirement. In which case keep the pensions as they are, you have a motivated workforce and a short time to pay out.

I am being flippant - a bit.

I think it will be bloody unpopular but perhaps you can change pension for new entrants as they know what they are signing up for. But one of the reasons many people work in the public sector is pensions. But to remove the pensions that people have been working for for years is wrong and will backfire.

My company's final salary pension scheme was regretfully wound up this month. To continue propping it up would have undermined the company to the point we'd have been financially unstable. I am furious but I can see why it was necessary. Really I don't see why the public sector should be any different.

It isn't about class Barmyarmy, I am middle class but that has nothing to do with my income. But other than that I agree with you.

I am a good teacher, good maths teachers seem to be a rarity - we are an odd bunch. Increasing workload has been making me think about doing something else. Take my pension and it will be the last straw, many of my colleagues have said the same.

I teach in an outstanding school, we are packed with teachers who are considering moving into the independent sector, ( it is where most teachers go when they leave our school) or they have left the independent sector to come to us, partly because of pensions. I think there will be a lot of very good teachers seeking to leave teaching or moving into the independent sector.

I think a winter of discontent is on its way.
I have changed my union today from ATL ( touchy feely) to NUT ( ready for action)

I think CTCs and CB should have been cut/scapped years ago, irrespective of the economic climate. I object to the manifest waste of money, naturally...but it is the message it sends out that is most offensive.

How can it be right for middle-class people to make considered decisions to put off having children until they can properly afford it whilst the "poor" crack on regardless?

The idea of starting up a family courtesy of the taxpayer is little better than abuse, to my mind.

One of my colleagues said to me today that she didn't think it was fair that we have good pensions, when others don't, and she thought the government should stop all final salary pensions to make it fair for everyone.

I'm using a lot of 's at the moment!

But people are buying it undercova, I had to phone a parent today and they ranted something along the lines of "I can't make my child do their maths homework because I don;t have a gold plated pension like you"

Daily Mail

Wubbly I think we will need to do all of that and cut tax credits and cap or cut public sector pay.

And of course there is absolutely no other option but to cut the CTC to some of the poorest in our society?

We couldn't possibly consider raising income tax by a few pence?

Or scrapping Trident?

Or putting up Employers' NI?

Or redirect the £50m 'Free' Schools budget?

Just off the top of my head like.

Did you not know publc sector workers are bathing in money while everyone else starves. Think Nero playing the fiddle while Rome burns

undercovermutha - did you hear that boardroom salaries have quietly gone up 22% on average over the past year? No, thought not Fucking distorted print media in this country

Yes it is all the fault of firemen, teachers, nurses and policemen this recession, just look at the front page of the daily mail.

LadyBiscuit - the Media don't like the truth to get in the way of a good story! And the Public Sector are the whipping boys of the moment. Have you not heard that it's us public sector workers who are the problem - and there's me thinking the Banks actually had something to do with it .

But cuts need to be made, I don't want them made to people on benefits.

I accept that people on 24,001 may need some help with childcare ( but I still think people need to ask themselves can I actually afford this child) but if they have no childcare costs they do not need the basic £10 a week.

hornofplenty, I'm sorry but I'm not getting your point at all.

Of course people earning under £24k are poor, but they'll continue to get help. Those earning £25k cannot possibly be rich in comparison, but they'll get nothing?

In fact, if TWFU is correct, those people with one child earning £24,001 with lose exactly the same amount as those earning £50k! Who do you think will be hardest hit by losing that £40 a month?