Today we strike

[Perfect28]

Aibu to ask you to support all striking workers today? Please do, however you can.

It's partly about pay.

Also recent pay rise was not funded which means schools had to take the money away from other things in school budgets, damaging underfunded schools further.

Poor pay compared to other professions/ graduate career options is fuelling the recruitment crisis. Which makes education worse for children.

These things are all linked.

It’s just the same rhetoric over and over again: the government saying “there is very little money, you guys fight over it to figure out who gets it” and we end with benefit bashing, robbing the nurses and teachers etc. Meanwhile they’re taking the cream off top and laughing their asses off.

That’s exactly what’s happening and is unsustainable.

Are you happy with kids not having teachers? Because that’s where we’re at.

I support the strikes but I won't be doing anything physically to support today as I've got my own job to do. DS is off school.

Oh, don't worry, they are leaving in droves! People think they're suffering now having to look after their own kids for a day or two whilst teachers strike. Well, it won't be long until there is a massive shortage of qualified teachers and nobody to teach tomorrow's kids. Then you'll be happy.

NO

@plumduck LOL!!! 😂😂

If you want to take my comments so literally, I meant “If there is a conversation about the strikes on any channel you participate in, do mention your views”. I did not mean “slide up to a random school gate without a child and start talking to people”, you’d probably get the police called for that!! 😂

Ah! OK. Yes if it comes up at all I'll say something nice about the strikers.

Keep warm everyone on the picket lines. It is a cold day here.

I don't see the point.

The only people inconvenienced is the public, Govt doesn't care.

And with wfh so prevalent, the disruption isn't what it used to be

(My above thoughts don't apply to medical strikes. There should be serious negotiations going on there till they're resolved)

If I'm a private sector employer, pay rises will likely get passed to my customers, by putting prices up.
Public sector pay rises don't have the same direct feedback loop to market prices.

No I won't be supporting them. Holding children to ransom to make a political point is disgusting behaviour.

Apologies if this has been covered already while I was typing . . . Genuine query about pay & conditions - I note 50-60h working weeks are quoted for some (?many) teachers.
In the context of the school holiday periods is this still higher than a typical office job at about 1950 hours per year (incl 30d holiday) or just different timetabling?
Also flabbergasted at the 23% employers pension contribution quoted on R4 this am . . . speaking as a s/e person with no pension as have never been able to afford it.

Well, it won't be long until there is a massive shortage of qualified teachers and nobody to teach tomorrow's kids.

We’re already in that situation. There are thousands of kids who don’t have a qualified teacher for their class.

Parents think that because there’s an adult in the room it must be a qualified teacher (or who knows that subject in secondary) and that’s certainly not true. I’ve mentioned before that some A-level kids at my school are having to teach themselves because there’s no teacher at all, and there have been loads of threads on MN about primary classes being taught by a TA.

@THEDEACON 😂 if you say so sweetheart

I work in the private sector. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been given a 1% raise. Most years, my salary has been generally aligned with inflation.

The teacher friends I have were voicing concerns about their working conditions years ago. Pre-COVID, teachers had to deal with changes made to their pensions, reduced time for planning/marking/documentation (but all of those things still being required of them), and LAs underfunding schools (leading to head teachers laying off experienced staff in favour of hiring cheaper teachers who were lower on the pay scale). Post-COVID, things have gotten worse. Two of my pals have quit teaching after years in the profession, because they were that burnt out. Another has massively reduced her hours.

We all loved and respected our kids' teachers and abilities when we suddenly had to bring our own children along in math and English during lockdown, and found we couldn't do it without lots of tears. There's a reason I'm not home educating. And I can't afford private schools. It is inconvenient for me to use up my annual leave for strike days, but I support the strikes. I want my children to be taught by people who feel satisfied with their job.

No support from me
If you are not happy with your pay/conditions get another job
It is that simple

Same as it ever was .. shocking still and sad.

100% support the strike.

@babarneshome if we can't recruit and all teachers leave- what do you think happens to schools as a result?

@oysterbabe what should those in the profession do to improve the situation then? In your opinion?

That isn't your problem.

I already do. Sick and tired of billionaires and mulitnationals hiding money and not paying fair taxes. If they did the Government would have money to properly find decent public service wages and infrastructure.

Organise a national strike for a week. See how long the privatised services would survive without staff too.

I also don't blame a few asylum seekers for our woes.

Absolutely not !
Is this shitshow going to be an annual thing where you all stamp your feet and throw the teddy out the cot !

Well I have a child who will need to go to school so yes, it is my problem?

NO, why when have you shown solidarity for private sector workers.

Putting public sector workers on a constant pedestal gets ridiculous, the country would grind to a complete stand still and just as many people would die suffer if the private sector all went on strike.

Who do you think delivers and makes all the things you need, all the power and utilities you have the food and drinks you consume, maintains peoples homes and infrastructure so you and the emergency vehicles can travel,make produce sell and deliver the drugs people need. on and on and on.

Were all part of a big web and all cogs in a machine. So bloody well NO!

Not to mention you know, the wider society and how we need educated informed citizens.