to say this to all the teachers who are striking next week

[Memoo]

As a parent I am 100 % behind you.

I really appreciate that you put your life and soul into your job and im sorry more people don't get just how hard you work for the benefit of our children.

Don't let the bastards grind you down!

I don't understand why people fall for the divide and rule propaganda. If things are shit in the private sector, people who work there shoudln't be trying to make things equally shit in the public sector - let's not race to the bottom. Instead, focus your efforts on making things better across the board. Pay, terms and conditions have got worse for everyone except the fat cats since Thatcher and her heirs neutered the unions. Join a fecking union and fight for better pay, terms and conditions, don't try to bring everyone down. (And I speak as someone who has never worked in the public sector btw.)

"The public sector are not responsible for the mess the country's in at the moment" Unfotunately, each and every one of us is responsible in part at least. More to the point, we are now each and every one of us responsible for resolving the mess, no matter that "he started it - it's not my fault". Making it "someone else's problem" - ie the Government - who can't magic money from nowhere (it HAS to come from us) will lead to a bankrupt Britain and create a hell of a lot more problems than a reduction in pension.

It's NOT fair that public section pensions are being reduced. I totally agree. But striking simply makes things worse :(

Saying that just because the private sector is getting screwed doesn't mean the public sector should be is completely fair, of course. But, to say that therefore the private sector should take industrial action as well is just as short sighted as these strikes. Perhaps those in the private sector find it easier to see the link between their work and their organisation's survival. In my company most people are on a 4-day week. If they started industrial action the company would go bust. So they don't. But they don't think that the company is "screwing them over". They think they're doing all they can to get through this and keep everyone's jobs. Perhaps, no matter what our colours, we should realise that this is what the Government is trying to do.

We might not agree with all their decisions (of course we won't), and some people in Government are better than others. But, whatever we think we are stuck with this Government for now (and let's face it, the last lot didn't exactly protect us from all this, and despite it being a world-wide crisis their overspending and poor decisions put us into a much worse position within the crisis) so we might as well work with them, not against them.

This is not them-and-us. This is a battle for the survival of our country and we should try to work together to achieve it.

Every one of us will be worse off than we expected, and than we planned for. Some of us will struggle terribly. That, however, is the way of life for the majority of the world and we do not have a "right" to be any different. Our Government is currently trying to limit the extend to which we will fall as much as possible and if we fight it we will all suffer more than we can imagine right now.

(Otherwise I agree with what Niceguy and OMG have been saying).

(andorganiccarrotcake)

"Perhaps, no matter what our colours, we should realise that this is what the Government is trying to do."

I don't believe them. I don't trust the government and think they have an agenda to screw the public sector and privatise as much of it as possible and are using 'cuts' as a cover for this. Their academies program is an excellent example of how they are screwing schools but pretending that it's a good thing for everyone. They keep going on about how many schools have chosen to become academies and are 'signing up in droves' for the 'freedoms' that becoming an academy will bring.

People who work in schools which have recently converted to academy status will know that this is utter bollocks of the highest order. Schools have had their budgets cut dramatically, with promise of more cuts in the future. There have been bonuses for converting to academy status if you jump on the bandwagon now with the threat that you will have to convert in the future anyway, but without the incentive.
The government is obviously hoping that once all schools are academies they can start closing down the LAs, and all the services which once used to be public sector will now be private sector and schools will be charged top dollar. And since schools are now out of LA control, who will they turn to?

Anyone who trusts this government when it comes to their actions regarding the public sector are a bit naive.

Doras backpack I know roughly what my private sector friends earn. Not exactly as that would be odd. Most of them earn between 3 to 10 times what I earn. Most of then own their own home , some own two . Most have their children in independent schools, most have constant holidays, flash cars and expensive clothes. A few have full time nannies .

"It's NOT fair that public section pensions are being reduced. I totally agree. But striking simply makes things worse "

Read this OOC:
www.public-sector-pensions-commission.org.uk/wp-content/themes/pspc/images/Public-Sector-Pensions-Commission-Report.pdf

eg teachers pay in 6.4% of salaries to a pension entitlement (on page 8 of report) worth up to 40% of their salaries . There is a £770 billion to £1,176 billion public pension shortfall (most favour the upper estimate). There is also a shortfall in state pension (those retiring now will get out 115% of all the taxes etc they have paid and this is thought to be a conservative estimate.

Then we have that pesky £150 billion structural deficit, circa £1 trillion in debt. We need to show we can be responsible to try to get financial suppport from China, Japan, India, we do not want to lose our credit status.

Pensions already paid will be honoured at past terms. ihave said the only question I have about fairness is the RPI-CPI switch which is being challenged in court.

If I was/when i am presented with the exact figures that show genuine projections and show alternate proposals with their accompanying figures and they showed no other alternatives than what they are offering now. Then I will suck it up. I do believe however that there is an alternative to the current proposal.

I really must step away now...

noblegiraffe so what would your solution to the financial crisis be?

Striking certainnly makes things worse that part I do agree with. It says "We can't do the maths and make sacrifices and accept the severity of the situation."

Feck it, I am going to have to strike.

My union dues had lapsed so I wasn't going to but a) I am now having hassle at work and b) my mother is a rabid committed trade unionist who will have my head if I cross a picket line and there will be a picket outside my workplace, it is confirmed.

I am not massively in favour of the action but I am more uncomfortable about crossing a picket line.. also I now need the union and I feel as though you have to strike if you join, it is not reasonable to expect support and then opt out when things aren't to your liking.

So, I wearily signed up again and sent my managers an email to explain the situation. Sigh. I don't think striking really helps anything but there is a democratic principle and it looks like I will need my union later this year so heigh ho, it's off to picket I go.

Iggy, what do mean when you say, 'our credit status'. What do you mean by, 'our'? 'Credit' to whom?

iggly do you mean that the basic argument, "the public sector pensions are being cut and it's not fair" is invalid?

My OH works in the private sector and we certainly don't have what you describe twinkytroll.

Having said that I don't agree with the strike - I'm sick of our headteacher's propaganda newsletters whining about "her" pension.

There is no money and there are no jobs. I have been out of work for three years following an enforced break taking on three children through the courts, a decision I don't regret but the grim reality is that in the current market it is unlikely I will return to work. I do envy those of you have jobs they enjoy and I treasured my work.

Years ago, 10,000 jobs went locally under the conservatives, whilst workers were striking about changes to holiday arrangements - and look at what was looming on the horizon - mass redundancies.

Yes, I am harsh but I know your life can change in the blink of an eye. You don't know what you have until it's gone. Watch out.

lordlovely surely she means our International credit status! Which would be catastrophic if we lost it!!

carrot - I'm not a finance wizard, but I am suspicious when money-making proposals put forward such as a financial transactions tax on the banks, or closing tax loopholes or forcing corporations to pay their tax bills instead of writing them off are shot down by the government given that we're all supposed to be in it together.

The Occupy movement has some ideas, and in some cases, some of the '1%' have come forward and said 'yes, actually, I want to pay more tax, I think that's fair'.

The City of London has an unelected person called the Remembrancer stationed inside parliament (sits behind the Speaker, I believe) whose job it is to lobby on behalf of the financial sector and protect their interests. Isn't that outrageous?

Elsie I suppose it depends on where you went to university and with whom you mixed.

With one exception all my peers from uni went into law, banking, recruitment, jobs I don't understand but seem to pay a lot and banking.

I became a teacher and another friend a lecturer.

noble there are a lot of things in Government that I think are outrageous. None of them will get us out of this mess. The only way to do it will be if all of the population take some kind of a hit (sometimes this will make life really tough). Because, if we don't, it will be much worse and it's the much worse I'm scared about.

IMF credit satus. They give countries a rating eg if AAA money borrowed is likely to be at a better rate of interest.

OPPs "status"

carrot, but you are saying that as if the public sector hasn't already taken a hit. Mass redundancies (yes, including teachers, loads went at my school and we're having to teach more lessons as a result to bigger classes), pay freezes, budget cuts.

I wouldn't be averse to some changes to my pension even, as someone else (fontsnob?) has pointed out, at least one union suggested cutting employer contributions instead of raising employee contributions but for some reason, the government isn't keen. But asking me to pay far more, for longer, for far less, when they won't provide the figures to show it must be done? That's a pay cut I'm not happy about taking. Especially when, as I have said before, I don't trust them that it's necessary.

I also did not suggest that those in the private sector have not had their t&cs changed, I said that if they didn't want it to happen, they should have done something about it. It seems from reading this thread that a lot of private sector workers are happy enough to accept less money, in order to 'do their bit', so good luck to them.

I'm sorry but that's just ridiculous!

Private companies were/are being crippled by trying to maintain their pension commitments to deferred members and as a result had no choice but to stop offering defined benefit pensions. My previous employer's deferred pensions commitments were, for a period of time, far greater than our annual EBIT.

By 'should have done something about it' you pressumably mean 'should have gone on strike'. So you're suggesting private sector employees should have donned their blinkers and taken action which would in all likelihood have ruined the business they were working in.

It's amazing that we they never thought of something as clever as that!

Please check the report. It is scary reading even more so with aging population and costs to NHS etc as well as pensions. Personally I think 10 years time it will be worse and quite frankly our children will be suffering far more than us.

Organic, I think it's the word ALL that isn't being adhered to though, in the cases that Nobel has mentions for e.g. and those of us standing up for our own little piece of life are taking the brunt of the vitriol. We want another alternative, not no change at all. We have taken the pay freeze and seen the cuts in hours and redundancies. The govt are being very effective at setting us against each other in the futile battle of public v's private.

It seems that people only see their part of the sector and compare it with the highest paid part of the opposite sector, and then feel that they come out worse off.

noblegiraffe not at all. In fact, let's drop the "them and us" because EVERYONE has had cuts - private sector, public and those on benefits who are not working.

But we are still in shit and more needs to be done. That is all.