aibu to think that all those striking on thursday are being selfish and greedy?

[hellospoon]

And they should be thankful that they even have a job?

In a day where thousands of people are unemployed and living in poor conditions surely these teachers should be thankful they even have a job!

Many parents are having to take leave, some unpaid I presume the effect that it will have on family's is ridiculous.

why do we get threads like this when anyone strikes, it's really lazy and they always mention that people should be thankful to have a job

why thankful fgs??? thankful to have fair conditions that don't change with every blardy government

The thing that irks me most about the current threats of strikes is that you would think, from the way many Union reps/leaders are talking, that they were the only people suffering.

DH is in the RAF, the military are also under a pay-freeze, are seeing changes to their pensions and have the threat of redundancy. Add to this the fact that DYING doing your job is a very real possibility.
But they are not allowed to strike.

AGREE WITH BAMBOOSTALKS POST AT 08.00...Well Put..

"The thing that irks me most about the current threats of strikes is that you would think, from the way many Union reps/leaders are talking, that they were the only people suffering"

I agree. And I'm a public sectar worker.

Am I right in thinking that the current pension rate of 11K a year isn't at all bad. That is way above the national average at the moment.

CaveMum - we have NHS workers in our family who aren't unsupportive of the teachers but are a little niggled by their protest because they face hardships but do not strike.
For example, the press coverage has prompted many nurses (who have degrees, lots of training and a lot of personal responsibility like teachers but terrible shift patterns as well) to look at their own pay scales and realise that theirs compare very unfavourably with teachers despite the fact that they are just as qualified, work worse hours and suffer the threat of violence or injury much more often.

Maybe they should. They'd get a result a damn sight quicker than the teachers will.

op I don't think the teachers are being greedy, and aanyway, don;t we all try to get the best deal we can?

I do think, though, that they are being utterly utterly foolish and walking exactly into the path laid for them by the government.
As Ed Balls so rightly pointed out, David Cameron is rubbing his hands together in glee.

of course yabu. but you knew that!

nurses, doctors, fireman, police, teachers and the rest should strike on the same day.

when the gov is forced to bring in the army maybe they will realise people wont stand for thei nasty tory bullshit ideology

YABU. They have accepted a job and gone into a profession which has certain terms and conditions - including the current pension scheme. I agree with Hutton that public sector pensions are not sustainable at their current levels and reform is required. However, it is not unreasonable for the teachers to expect a dialogue on the format of such reforms. I understand from some teachers that the greatest problem is the proposal to increase the age of retirement to 68. They feel that 68 is simply too old for many people to be in a class room environment. Clearly this will not be the case for everyone, but I suspect a lot of people of that age will no longer have the engery and drive to teach effectively. This seems to me to be a valid point and one which should at least be considered.

Surely MPs are public sector workers, but their platinum plated pension scheme isn't up for revision. We are most definitely NOT all in this together. I support all those striking, pension reform should not be a race to the bottom. All those complaining they don't even have a pension scheme - you do - you will expect the taxpayer to fund your retirement and won't have saved a penny towards it yourself!

knitted you know full well that's not going to happen. Why waste the energy even typing it?

All that is going to happen is that the teachers will make themselves and their case hugely unpopular. Pensions will still have to be reformed.

i think it may well do word factory

yabu and selfish

nope the tories will make themselves MORE unpopular if that's possible.

i think the majority of parents support the strike.

Who 'are' getting good pensions? Maybe you suffered from too many teachers' strikes when young :)

YABU. Ridiculous, actually. Teachers are among the last people left with a real ethic of service, using their education to pass on what they love to others instead of to pile up as much money as possible. Can't you see that this is about respect, and not about money?

I am btw not a teacher.

YANBU.
The teachers' whole argument could be summed up thus: we understand the economy is up shit creek, we understand lots of people are less fortunate than us and losing their jobs, we understand there is no money left in the kitty.
But we want our pensions - and fuck everybody else.

YABU. You stop people striking, you get the selfish and greedy employers taking advantage. Has happened many, many times.

mdowdall, I don't think you are right. I don't think they are opposed per se to any form of reform of the Teachers' Pension Scheme. I think they are opposed to the current suite of reforms and they may have good reasons for some of their objections.

i am a parent and i support the strike. i dont care that teachers pensions are better than someone else's etc. if you go in to a job being promised something it seems wrong to move the goal posts. this government just like to take from the people that can not or will not do anything about it. yes being a teacher is a secure job but also if you dont like your terms of employment you cant just go to a different company. jobs like teaching, nursing and midwifery the government can get a way with paying shit relative to what they do because the are deemed vocational/calling professions. people do them because they have a burden of care, they know nurses cant strike and teachers have to be careful how they go about it as it will affect the childrens long term education and they know this and are not worried at all, its not like teachers are going to long term strike over this if they dont get their own way is it..

This is all about the Unions trying to bring down the 'nasty' Tory government - and given the fragility of the Coalition they may well succeed. The teachers are being used as pawns in all of this. I actually feel sorry for them as many of them - the younger ones especially - I really dont think they have a clue what's going on.

YABU

how condescending, the young ones havent a clue of whats going on? actually yes they probebly do they just gasp, actually support it.

Fortunately I am on annual leave this week so don't have to find alternative childcare but if that wasn't the case I'd still find a way and do it willingly. Heck I'll even stand on the picket line with them.

It will be a VERY sad day for this country if workers who were promised xyz weren't allowed to protest when the government move the goalposts. I support them 100%. How's about the MP's slashing their pensions by the same percentage they expect teachers to? Thought not...

YABVVU.