Teacher strikes and work plans

[Yellowcoffeecup]

Not sure who to be pissed off with teachers or work colleagues.

Big face to face team meeting next Wednesday. Whole morning.

Been in diary for couple of months.

Due to teachers strike colleagues now saying they can't make the meeting. They're saying they can't join on line either because of distraction by their children.

Fine - take a days annual leave or make alternative arrangements for your children.

Not a meeting to easily rearrange.

AIBU to be pissed with teachers ?
AIBU to be pissed with colleagues ?
AIBU all round ?

Blame the government for not negotiating for not funding the pay rise they’re showing off about, for not caring about public services and letting infrastructure we all need fall apart. People have missed meeting due to train strikes/staff shortages etc. A Social Worker missed an important Team Around The Family meeting the other day due to a child taking an overdose and no other staff. Lots of people pissed and inconvenienced.

For some children being failed by the govt they are hungry, mentally unwell, not got a qualified teacher, direct your anger to support them!

You should be unreasonable with the people who are putting the teachers and nurses in this position and you in this position. It’s not the teachers or your team but most definitely the government to blame. So I would say, support your team always. In the same way this was sprung on you it’s been sprung on them. They will be feeling guilty on top.

Strikes aren’t supposed to make you feel sympathetic towards the strikers, their aim is to focus minds and increase public pressure by showing the public what it would be like what it would be like without their services.

Direct your anger at the government for making strikes - always the last resort - necessary.

I say this as someone who’ll be covering the workload of my (non-teacher) parent colleagues during the strikes as they can’t work.

Some people don't have any leave left/enough leave left to take annual leave.

😳 op, unless it’s a world summit or peace negotiations yabvu.

How does that help your meeting? You've said if can't be rearranged

If they can't sit in a passive online meeting there's no way they are working, they should take annual leave or unpaid if they've run out of leave 🤷‍♀️

Another person who sees school as childcare.

It’s annoying but there’s not much you can do

Are they able to do much work anyway or just paid as usual but no AL

OP hasn’t said it’s a passive meeting - I’m sure no one would mind attending if it was merely joining a teams meeting and staying on mute with the camera off until it ends. By “distraction” the colleagues could mean background noise with the microphone on meaning it’s difficult for them to contribute.

Did you feel the same way when postal workers went or strike, or train drivers, nurses or all the other professions that have been forced to take such drastic action just to be heard? Or is this vitriol just saved for teachers? No wonder no one wants to join the profession and those who are still there are leaving in droves! I am a teacher who won't be on strike due to the fact my union didn't receive enough ballots (maybe because of the postal strike, who knows?!). I also will have to juggle childcare on Wednesday and report to work, but unlike you, I have sympathy for everyone who will have to do the same. Blame the government for failing to fund schools properly. This is the true reason behind the strikes, our children's future!

OP, you sound nasty.

Teachers strikes seem to be mainly affecting women, whereas the other strikes were everyone, I bet not many men are worrying about working as usual on the strike days. That is why there is a lot of vitriol on here

Is there an ongoing issue with wfh colleagues appearing to do less work for the same pay and using children as the reason?

I think it's far more likely that the vitriol comes from:
1). Most teachers being female
2). Most parents thinking school is childcare. Believe it or not, this isn't the case.

Why aren’t you passed off with the government for not sorting this mess?

it’s not just teachers striking either

2). Most parents thinking school is childcare. Believe it or not, this isn't the case.

the government have made this the case with their policies

The nhs trust I work for has emailed all staff saying they expect people In work and parents should identify themselves as keyworkers but some staff are saying that's all very well and good but what if the whole school is closed?
I'm guessing there will be a lot of applications for carers leave that day!

I bet your meeting could have been an email anyway.

Blame the government.

Thank god I don’t work with you OP- seriously it doesn’t take a lot of critical thinking to see the position everyone is in.

This was booked months ago so

Heartened to see so many posters recognising the government are the place everyone’s anger should be directed.

They do not give a flying fuck about anyone other than themselves.

Surely if they all took a day's leave, the meeting would have to be cancelled anyway?

So what's the real beef? It can't be the meeting being cancelled - it sounds pointless enough already if everyone is bailing.

Is it that some colleagues apparently have found meaning and purpose in their lives - in the shape of children who need them and give them something to exist for, rather than filling their time with pointless busywork meetings that only serve to fluff the fragile egos of childless managers without any other means to enrich their sad work-obsessed lives?

We're not allowed carers leave (NHS) as it's been known about ahead of time. We've been told we're expected to work and use alternative childcare.

You sound like a complete dick, to be fair.