I certainly support the teachers strike , because someone has to do something . They work bloody hard as far as I can tell . It's not like they turn up,every morning and the lesson preparation fairy has delivered the days curriculum for them . Our children's education is being fucked up before our very eyes, and yet most of the changes are being put through with very little debate due a combination of smoke and mirrors , and the government's usual tactic of making sure there's a shitload of derogatory stories in the press about whatever bit of the public sector they want to screw over , before making some neatly glossed over announcement about a fortnight later .
I don't have the right to strike in my profession . In fact even talking about doing so is a criminal offence for me called causing disaffection . So because of the way the police service are being treated , decent hard working experienced officers , the ones who really keep the service are going , are leaving in droves , because no one wants to be chasing 18 year old robbers with hi tech trainers and a much better incentive to flee , at 60 . Which is the new age of retirement for police officers and in fact firefighters , which is why they too are striking this week . When I first joined some twenty years ago , and in fact up until all the changes were coming in , the only resignations you tended to see in personnel notices were of officers with 2 , maybe 3 years in, who had decided it wasn't the career for them . Now , I see officers with 6 years upwards leaving . 30 odd last week alone , not to mention those retiring .
If as a society , we fail to protest , then the government gets away with doing whatever they want , with no debate , no matter how deluded or unworkable it may be . Is that what people want ? Our NHS , fire services , teaching professions meddled with willy nilly by people who don't really give a shit about anything except the advancement of their own careers ( and a truly gold plated pension! ) ? Really ?