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!

mummymeister well said

I fully support the strike too.

I have to say as an ex-teacher..I don't know what all the moaning is about. Everyone in society has been hit with pension changes..EVERYONE.WHy do teachers have to be the exception? Its a hard job granted but its 9-3..and to be honest you maybe spend a few hours preparation after so that's a normal 40 hour working week. With great perks- 11 weeks holiday a year plus numerous "local holidays" and bank holidays and every weekend off.Plus its a secure job. (unless you go nuts and punch a pupil- you're not likely to be sacked)

If I hear another teacher moan about how hard they have it-i'm going to explode!There are hardly digging ditches!

Seriously they need to dry their eyes!

It's not just teachers striking, lots of other workers are striking to defend their pensions too.

Another voice to the chorus of support

Go teachers.

I'm public sector but our union isn't striking.

I don't object to public servants striking over this matter. What I do object to is the number of my friends who are affected who are treating Nov. 30th as a Christmas shopping day.

If you are on strike, go and make your point on the picket line or at one of the demonstrations which have no doubt been organised. If you don't, you are merely taking a days unpaid leave to suit yourself.

Sorry, whilst I appreciate the reasons for striking and feel sorry for those involved and I agree that those who have are nearing pensionable age deserve more consideration than they appear to be receiving, those of younger ages must unfortunately realise that the times have altered. I don't believe any job gives you absolute guarantees any longer and that all kinds of final salary etc type pensions have to end. Thats it, so its this year or next year.

The bit that now does get my goat is this idiotic idea of giving firms more simple ways to sack individuals. It is extremely easy to sack people, you just have to play by the legal rules already in place. The law is quite sufficient as it stands.

Clarabumps has a point. Pensions will have to change because people are living longer and there isn't an infinite amount of money in the pot. Everyone is in the same boat and I'm not sure why the public sector should be exempt.

Also supporting everyone striking next week. And if my fixed term contract for the DWP hadn't ended, I'd have been out there with you!

Hey moaners - If it wasn't for the unions you wouldn't have sick pay or holiday pay or all the other benefits you enjoy - I'm sure if Dave suddenly announced he was scraping all that you'd be striking -
Who knows? maybe he will - and if you strike over it I'd support you too.

Private sector workers are not striking to defend the service they provide for the good of the whole nation, they are striking to defend their jobs, pay rates and pension.

The strikes will not prevent job losses and consequent reduction in service quality/quantity.

The pension "funds" are only sustainable if the government keeps contributing a certain level of tax revenue gathered from tax payers otherwise we must be being asked to believe that the public sector "pension funds" are magically out performing private sector pension funds as far as investment performance is concerned. Who are these fabulous public sector pension fund performance managers who are generating such high rates of return on "the fund" and bucking the market trend ? How has the loss of the dividend tax credit reclaim (a stealth tax on pensions brought in by Gordon Brown in 1997) not affected the public sector "pension fund" investment income.

So many questions, so few answers.

People seem to imagine that it's the government being greedy and not wanting to pay the teachers a fair wage. It's US that has to pay for it all, and most people in the real world have seen their wages and working conditions drop quite a bit in the last 20 years. So it only stands to reason that teachers and other public sector workers should see their drop too. Why should people earning less have to subsidise the public sector so that they continue to earn more?

Clarabumps - you clearly haven't been a teacher for a VERY long time.

Not one I know works 9-3 (school starts for the kids at 8.35 so how the hell would that work?!) most get in for 7/7.30 as we have directed time from 8am and directed time finishes at 4pm so 8 til 4 is a more realistic appraisal of an average working day.

And if you only spent "a few hours" preparing then you clearly weren't preparing very well - even an experienced teacher takes 15-20mins to plan a 1 hr lesson for each class because each class has different children in it all of whom have different needs. With 23 1hr lessons a week for a full time teacher that works out at more than "a few hours" if it's done properly.

Not to mention any decent teacher would be making resources and marking, both of which are pretty time consuming. I would say on average 55-60hr weeks are more normal. Most bank holidays fall within the school holidays so they are included in the 11weeks not additional to it. I've never heard of (or had) a local holiday.

When you average it out, teachers do a 40hr week over the whole year so basically it's the same as any other job - bloody hard and no-one appreciates you!

Only bonus if you don't work in a classroom, you can go to the toilet whenever you need to... massively underrated perk IMO.

I'm not a teacher but I'm a public sector worker ,my union said yes to the strike so I'm striking

I support the strike despite personal inconvinience and loss of a days pay.

Stick it to em! Good luck

"I support the teachers (& nurses etc) too. Working for a pittance in the public sector"
If teachers think what they earn is a pittance, it just goes to show how out of touch with the real world they are. Too many public sector types live within a bubble. They socialise with other public sector people, often marry other public sector people. Many of them will have public sector parents.

I appreciate my DC teachers and know its not and easy job, however it is their job and in the current climate I think it puts two fingers up to the Private sector in which people are seriously struggling to keep their jobs, homes and family. Few teachers are facing the new year without jobs or an income.

Large companies are using the downturn as an excuse to treat their employees far worse than they already do - a friend of mine has been told if any staff call in sick over xmas they will have TWO days pay docked - illegal - yes - do they care, no. Staff are readily replaceable at the moment.

I will lose my Child benefit next year - can I strike about that?

I also dont understand why you would strike before negotiations are complete.

What I find amazing is when anyone who moans about the strikes is told it is for you too so that private sector pensions do not go down. What utter tosh. There is no money in many private sector companies and they realised many moons ago that final salary pension schemes were unattainable due to longevity and therefore ditched them. I have been involved in one case in particular when the unions fought for the pension scheme to continue and actually made the company go into liquidation as a result. Rover would have been bought if not for the pension scheme. Please people realise this is not a fight to the bottom but a realistic approach to people living longer. This strike is not for my kids as soon or later the pension for the public sector will go for all new entrants as with most private companies and my kids will be paying for those lucky people who benefitted just as our current workforce is paying for those who retired on final salary pensions at the cost of pay freezes. The latest valuations have brought many big companies to their knees. If I hear one more person say this is not a fight to the bottom, it shows a complete lack of understanding. By the way all the promises will still make the schemes better than the private sector and I am afraid to say people do not choose a job for the pension. All the other benefits such as above minimum maternity leave, sickness pay and holidays will still apply plus a better pension scheme so the public sector will still attract new recruits and probably more now they know what is on offer.

Henwelly - Plenty of public sector workers are facing job losses. Perhaps not teachers, but many others who will be involved in the strike.

My Dh works in the public sector, his union is striking, he's not, and I'm glad.

He doesn't want his pension terms diminished, but you know what, striking over his pension terms going from excellent to now only quite good just seems unjust when we have so many friends who do jobs like supermarket cashier, cleaner, care assistant and various self employed, who have no pension at all. They earn less (teachers salaries are now comparatively good) and have a bleaker future already.

And They are having to take time off because other peoples previously excellent pensions are being reduced.

No one likes it, of course we want the great pension and not to work until we are 85, but look around, the country is in financial crisis, if they don't make savings now somehow our children really will be in the shit.

The pension will still be good, just not as good. Suck it up, we're the lucky ones with pensions.

The families on MN struggling to pay their rent and buy the weekly shop are not the teachers, believe me. They'd probably kill for a teachers salary and even reduced pension. So, Let's start there first shall we???

personally cant strike as it would affect the people who i support however people who are striking have my full support.

OP, what a lovely post :).
Emmam25, very well said..

easily what?

The people who have pulled your funding are the very same fuckers who are deleting posts and changing conditions in the public sector!

So save your ire for them and not the workers who are striking to try and stop it happening.