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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to ask WHY in the name of Gove are teachers striking again?

792 replies

loftyclopflop · 17/09/2013 18:17

DD's school is closing on 1st October because they have chosen to strike. Is it over pay, pensions and conditions? Did they achieve anything by striking a couple of years ago other than massively inconveniencing a lot of parents?

I know Gove is a twat but do they really expect to change anything by taking the day off?

OP posts:
ivykaty44 · 17/09/2013 22:17

Public support does not influence my pay or conditions

it is the public that have the choice to vote at the next election, so if you can't see that the public support is important then possibly you don't care who they vote into government next time and you may not care whether Gove gets back in again

TheFallenMadonna · 17/09/2013 22:17

I know who's supposed to be doing it. I don't know anyone who has changed how they work. You can't refuse observations for a start.

NewNameforNewTerm · 17/09/2013 22:18

Thanks Ivykaty. I must confess I assumed my hourly rate on my pay slip related to 1265. I'm currently looking at my directed hours, but that is a whole different thread!
I will not be striking, but I've been part of heated debates at the photocopier, etc. with members of other unions who are still considering it. We are a good team, so everyone wants to work / strike as a whole unit if we are in the appropriate union. They have been informed that they do not have to inform the headteacher that they will be striking. The head can ask, but they don't have to respond! Not that one of them would dream of not giving notice.

cardibach · 17/09/2013 22:19

TheFallenMadonna you can - that's about the only bit of the work to rule that has been successful in my school. Nobody is seen excessively - it's 3 times a year unless there is a damned good reason for any more.

EvilTwins · 17/09/2013 22:19

Public support does not influence my job on a day to day basis. I'm not worried that parents will be unsympathetic if I strike. Gove does not give a shit about public support, not do any other politicians once they're in post. I don't think for a minute that government education policy is influenced by public support. Do you?

ivykaty44 · 17/09/2013 22:21

ET if you want Gove back in next time then fine - but I would have thought most teachers would want him gone

noblegiraffe · 17/09/2013 22:22

fallen maybe you work in a good school? Our union reps met with the head about the work to rule instructions and agreed that we were meeting them anyway and didn't have to change anything.

Or maybe you work in a shitty school where everyone is too fearful for their jobs to stand up?

revealall · 17/09/2013 22:22

NO ONE has said teachers have it easy. But teaching is about the children not you and your pensions.
So yes complain that you can't teach properly because of large classes, lack of resources for the rise in SEN, "new" initiatives that actually were working 20 years ago before the old new initiatives. Don't complain about hours and pensions.
Because you have them. You can work part time, supply, private and state.

Orangeanddemons · 17/09/2013 22:23

70 hours is not a normal working week

Dh, degree educated, work 9-5. Senior position
Ds ditto
Dh ditto
Bil ditto
bil 2 ditto
Df ditto
Neighbour ditto

I don't know anyone except teachers who work these stupid hours.

I believe some European directive stated that no working week should be longer than 45 hours ( not sure of exact amount). So actually nobody should be working 70 hours a week

outtolunchagain · 17/09/2013 22:24

All this talk about dire pensions is ridiculous, I deal with teachers pensions every day, so many teachers have fallen for the Union scaremongering.

How many of the people complaining have been on he TPS website and used the calculator to calculate their pension under the old and new schemes .For a start any teacher within 5 years of retirement will be completely unaffected and most women who have taken time off will be better off under the new scheme.

Compared to people outside the public sector this is an amazing pension scheme , final salary,lump sum,widows and dependants pensions and death in service ,completely out of reach of someone in a defined benefit scheme .The employer ( that's the taxpayer) puts in 14% of every teachers pay every month on top of the employee contribution , yes really 14% minimum.

I am not saying teachers don't deserve it , but they need to understand that for 90% of their pupils parents this is unbelievably good and you aren't going to garner much sympathy from those struggling to save for a tiny pension.

Orangeanddemons · 17/09/2013 22:25

No, teaching is about my salary and my pension. It is me first, and then the pupils. Why should I be any different than anyone else. Perhaps we should work for nothing? You know, as long as the kids are alright, that's all that matters

Blissx · 17/09/2013 22:26

revealall, please educate yourself. This strike is not about pay and pensions as has been pointed out to you. If that was your only gripe, can I now assume you are on side? Or do you just like being obtuse?

Freshlysqueezed · 17/09/2013 22:26

I KNOW 100' S OF SCHOOL PARENTS - SCHOOL IS NOT SEEN AS CHILDCARE BY ANY. THAT IS SUCH AN UTTERLY SHIT POINT TO MAKE IN THE TEACHERS PLEA

TheFallenMadonna · 17/09/2013 22:27

I'm pretty sure the appraisal regulations in England do not limit the number of observations. Don't know about Wales or Scotland.

Nessalina · 17/09/2013 22:28

I fully support teacher's striking. What that idiot Gove is doing to the profession is just so depressing it's untrue.
My DH is a primary school teacher, and he's wanted to do it all his life, now at just 30, he's decided to throw in the towel at the end of this year to retrain. It's got too much.
What so many people don't realise is that teaching is not just a full time job, it becomes your life and takes over. I manage a local bank, and at the end of the day I get home, take off my uniform and relax, and I don't give a thought to work until 8:30 the next morning. DH ostensibly finishes at 3:30, but is rarely home before 6 due to staff meetings, after school clubs etc, and then does 1-2hrs planning/marking nightly. At weekends he does maybe 6hrs work planning for the week ahead. And don't get me started on the school 'holidays' - last May half term he had personal statements for 6 subjects to write for 32 pupils, and it took days. This summer holidays his classroom was redecorated, and who had to return all the furniture to the room and re-do the wall mountings? He did. Bet no-one in an office job has had to come in and do some DIY on their annual leave!
The amount expected of him is silly, and what really gets him down is that he never feels like he's done enough. The pay off for this was the joy of the children, the generous pay rises, and the excellent pension. Now that is being gradually stripped away. Pay will no longer be guaranteed and will be in the hands of head teachers, whilst the pension will be smaller, available later, and he'll have to pay in more to get less. The joy is undermined by never ending and pointless knee jerk reactions, new initiatives, over-assessment, and general bollocks to be honest!
At the end of the day, he's not a martyr, he works to live not lives to work, and if the reward is no longer appropriate for the work done, then he's not prepared to do it any more. But there's thousands more just like him talking with their feet and moving on, and with less people training to be teachers every year, Mr Gove needs to stop thinking its a cushy number and realise its a hell of a hard job.
Ooh, rant over! Wink

EsTutMirLeid · 17/09/2013 22:28

bliss you say that but look at some of your fellow teachers posts who categorically state they are striking because of their pay and conditions.

SuffolkNWhat · 17/09/2013 22:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TheFallenMadonna · 17/09/2013 22:30

Well...!!!

We don't do bulk photocopying. We don't collect money. We volunteer for extracurricular activities. But we are observed a fair (unfair?!) bit. And cover can be a thorny issue.

Blissx · 17/09/2013 22:31

And Outtolunchagain, this time it isn't about pensions. That is not the strike directive of NUT and NASUWT. We have already accepted, through no choice, the increase in contributions and no final salary for those currently under 50. Please let's focus on the educational issues at the heart of these wanted discussions with Gove.

EvilTwins · 17/09/2013 22:31

So if I strike, the public will lose sympathy for me and vote the Tories back in so that Gove can carry on fucking up the system? Confused

I don't know about you, but I think there are other political issues than education which might influence people's opinions.

Blissx · 17/09/2013 22:33

EsTutMirLeid. I've read back and they started after some posters goaded teachers with the "gold plated pension' jibes. As others have said, we are sick of being caught up defending ourselves that the actual issues get missed, conveniently.

morethanpotatoprints · 17/09/2013 22:35

Nessalina

I am really sorry for your dh, it is so sad to see such dedicated professionals having no choice but to leave the profession they love. Sad

revealall · 17/09/2013 22:36

*1. Teachers' pay and conditions are part of the entitlement of all children and young people to high standards of education

  1. Teachers' jobs are being lost due to the cuts
  1. Teachers' jobs are being lost because of the employment of unqualified staff
  1. Teachers' jobs are being lost because of changes to the curriculum
  1. Bureaucracy is increasing workload, which is getting in the way of teaching and learning
  1. Good teachers are being driven out of teaching
  1. Teachers are standing up for standards
  1. Specialist (SEN) teaching jobs are being cut
  1. Class sizes are increasing
  1. Strike action by teachers is action of the last resort - the Coalition Government needs to listen*

To me you'd be better off with just 5., 8.,and 9.

The rest is meaningless. Would you still complain about 70 hour weeks on £50,000 pa or would that make them OK?

TheFallenMadonna · 17/09/2013 22:36

There is no limit for observations. It was removed in 2012.

SuffolkNWhat · 17/09/2013 22:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.