Does anyone NOT support teachers’ strikes?

[Notbeinggoadybut]

I’ve got mixed views. Support that they, as all public sector workers, need a pay rise. And schools need more funding (but the NEU hasn’t badged this as a public reason which is a mistake IMP).

But 12% is a lot when you’re on a £40k salary. The TA’s deserve 12%, the nurses and ambulance drivers with dire conditions and worse salaries deserve 12%. But not from a starting salary of £40k.

Also public services can be dire. I work in one, it can be bordering on a joke and in so many ways such a waste of money. I will be striking on the 1st of February. But I don’t think it’s right - I voted against the strike. I want a pay rise, but don’t feel like it’s right to ask for 10% and strike if I don’t get it.

People dpn't support teachers striking as what would they do with their kids that day?
What does that tell you? I left teaching as I was fed up with being a glorified babysitter! Amongst other things...unsupportive parents expecting miracles from their averagely intelligent children being another reason.

They wouldn't have to borrow it if they adequately and fairly taxed people on earnings from dividends. Or if they adequately charged corporation tax, Netflix made over £1 billion from UK subscribers in 2020 but only paid £4 million in tax. There are some very obvious solutions.

I'd just like to dispel the myth that private school salaries are higher than in the state system - I can only speak for my school, but we've had no pay rises at all for 10 years.
I'm support staff and am woefully underpaid for my skillset, qualifications and the job that I do. In fact, it will be minimum wage by April.
I'm planning to leave without giving notice and good luck to them recruiting into my role, based on the expectation of task vs the salary 🤷‍♂️

I think in 2022 Martin Lewis urged people to check their eligibility for UC even if their household income was £50k. Single parents renting can often get more than you’d expect.

It depends. Universal credit goes by household income, and takes into account things like childcare costs. Also teaching is a female dominated profession and a lot of teachers cannot afford to work full-time.

Also, average earnings for full-time workers was £33.5k per year in April 2022 according to ONS - the £24k you quoted includes part time workers. A FTE teacher is on £43k when at the top of their pay scale, which takes at least 7 years to reach, so yes, I do believe a full time teacher should be earning above national average - especially when you consider the hours that teachers put in is more than the average employer.

I’m very conflicted. I have a child in year 11 and the strikes are very close to the PPE exams, the whole school is closing therefore none of the suggested provisions are being put in place for the year groups taking exams, it’s worrying especially as this year group will be taking exams which will be going back to pre pandemic grading. This is where I then feel conflicted because the school has cut MFL from the A Level course my child wanted to take…due to funding and I understand that teachers are striking not just for pay but because of cuts etc…but when I look on the schools website and see they are paying salaries for 9 head teachers with a vacancy for another I am again conflicted -Why does any school (academy) need 10 head teachers and a very top heavy SLT?

It’s a vicious cycle isn’t it.. if you don’t make teaching rewarding, then it won’t attract people into the profession. Like the NHS.

But then these vital services are paid for by government, who don’t have money. They generate money from tax payers. The only way a government can increase pay awards is to increase taxes or borrow more.

I think after 40/30 years of the way the UK has turned into, it’s too late.

The good times of the 90s and 2000s are truly over and I don’t think we’ll ever have those times again.

Evert service is broken beyond repair

I don’t earn as much as I’m worth and my self employed husband has to work 7 days a week because that’s the only way we can survive. He has to take days unpaid because of the strike.
Is it inconvenient? Yes. Will it badly impact my kids education? I doubt it. Are there people much worse off? Yes
But I support it, teachers deserve it and saying “so do I” isn't a reason not to.

I want well paid, well funded teachers and schools because if we don’t, ensuring our kids get a decent education will fall on parents and covid demonstrated to me I’m no teacher! If I have to pay more tax well at least I will have a good reason to ask for a pay rise.

Teachers seem to think they do the hardest job in the world for the lowest money, with the least prospects and the pension isn't worth much. The private sector on the other hand are rolling in cash with huge salary increases. Get out your bubbles.

No we don’t

Give teachers their pay rise, paid for with increased taxes on the private sector. Then the private sector employees will need pay rises to offset the increase in tax, resulting in companies charging more for their services and the COL increasing even more.

Sounds like a cunning plan baldrick

No, you think teachers think that on the basis of no evidence whatsoever.

I’m completely indifferent, I don’t care either way.

I totally disagree with the teachers strike. I believe their pay is perfectly reasonable. I’m surprised the government haven’t suggested to take away some holidays if they believe they don’t have enough time to achieve what they want.

They were extremely well supported and protected during the pandemic unlike nurses and doctors. They got a pay rise durning the pandemic, unlike nurses and doctors.

The children have had a lot of time off school and are suffering. My son has had two strikes off, two teachers trained day, two bank holidays and a three day school trip just this month! That’s more than a week of school. But we can’t take him out of school for a few days for holiday.

I respect teachers and the job they do, but they get paid enough and have every evening, weekend and half term off (including all holidays such as Christmas, Easter ect).

I’m going to assume that’s a wind-up.

Feel free to retrain and join the profession then, or don’t complain when there aren’t any qualified teachers to get your kids through their exams

The job is not easy. We spend evenings and weekends marking, assessing, planning lessons writing up reports and the massive paper work that involves have children with many needs. On top of that we have to get resources ready, go to meetings, training and some very tedious tasks like finding your children's lost stuff. I've never had any holidays off my holidays are spent doing mid term plans and overviews. I think the only decent holiday is the summer even that we have to get our new classrooms ready including making displays , labelling everything and getting trays and resources ready. The displays and books take a long time because the management are so anal about what goes in those books and the walls. On top of that bad behaviour never ends we constantly have to be on top of that. There are children who have adhd and other needs that are just not met. So no teacher's are not paid enough.

I don’t believe that teachers would qualify for UC would they?

yes, they would. Teachers are very averagely paid if just teachers without additional responsibilities (which is many of us) and particularly in comparison with other graduate professions. Granted I am a single parent as well but I have been teaching for 15 years and have always been entitled to Tax Credits. Not much anymore, but the entitlement is still there.

And paying you more will solve those issues? Now if the strike was about funding for students or the school I’d agree but it’s not. The strike is simply to pay the teachers more.

I won’t complain as that will never happen. And no thank you, i don’t want to be a teacher. Being a nurse is enough, thank you 😊

Oh seriously. There countless threads explaining this, so I won't go over it all again.

All I'll say is that the strikes are to get the Government to the table to talk. The only time they talk to the unions is when they are under intense pressure. Workload and funding were discussed the last time.

We can only strike about pay legally.

It is about funding, and recruitment and retention, and a million other reasons, but we can only strike about pay.
Do you support the nurses and junior doctors striking ?

The strike is for schools to be given the funding to pay any pay rise.

Tell me you don’t have a clue without telling me directly. Joker.

That's the old pay scale, it'll be £48.5 at the top of the pay scale as of Feb 2024. It's also worth noting that we have plenty of teachers for most subjects. We also don't have Ofsted or most of the ridiculous stuff that I see from English education. No recruitment crisis (except some secondary subjects). If only England could learn from it.