School closures next week - how are you going to manage?

[daffodill6]

I work part time and have to manage things finely as it is top pick DD up from school. Just wondering how others will cope next week?

The point about making up the time is that the school is closed, and the people who are suffering are the children who have lost 3 days this term due to strike action.
If I want to take my children on holiday for 3 days out of term I have to beg and plead but it is ok when the school closes for extra days.
And the working parents who also lose holiday or pay to cover those extra days.

When you accept a job in the public sector, it is not for the pay, I know, I am in the public sector. But I don't see the point of losing pay when you are effectively wiping out your payrise by doing so.

Eg on a salary of £12 k, a 3% payrise is £300 pa before tax, or £25 per month. This is more than the offer.Even if after action, the payrise goes up to inflation (4%?) is the extra going to cover the wages lost by striking?
The government will not give big rises, even though the wages are so low. They never have done.

As for the perceived benefits of being a public sector employee, the pensions are safer than private sector ones, some are still final salary. We also get more annual leave than the legal minimum, and better job security. Such things have always been
argued as reasons why public sector pay is lower than a comparable private sector job.

The people who are suffering are the staff who will loose 2 days pay & have to put up with poor pay & conditions every day.
No I didn't join the school for the money BUT I do expect a decent wage for what I do.
My salary is nowhere near 12k!

Can I just say schools aren't a cheap option to childcare! If striking didn't create problems there wouldn't be any point in doing it. By inconveniencing people it brings their attention to the poor working conditions of some public sector employees.
I will have my class as normal next week but will be without my TA so it certainly won't be a holiday for me and it will be inconvenient as activities have had to be cancelled but I still support anyone's right to fair pay and working conditions.

When you accept a job in the public sector, it is not for the pay, I know, I am in the public sector. But I don't see the point of losing pay when you are effectively wiping out your payrise by doing so.

I accepted a job for the pay - I go to work to live not live to work. Why shouldn't I be paid a decent wage for the work I do?

effectively losing two days pay is not going to wipe out a pay rise - a higher salery is not just for one or two years it is.

At the moment they are offering a pay cut. Of course if you work in the public sector and are low paid you will benifit and get paid for working whilst others strike - if you are not in the union. Of course you are welcome to support the union I dare say you would not turn down a pay rise

dd2's school is only closing at lunchtime - we have all been told to take our children away from 12.00 - 1.20 pm.
Well, how many of the children do you think will be back in the afternoon?
and what happens if the parent doesn't turn up at 12.00?
I'm hoping for dry weather and we'll picnic in the local park.

mrz I know that schools are not a cheap option to childcare, but I resent having to pay £50 extra, that I had not budgeted for with a week's notice.
I am not in a sector of public service that is taking part in the strike, but in any case my wages are not high enough for me to justify losing pay to gain back the same amount in a year.
I agree with the principle of protest, but how is causing inconvenience to parents going to persuade Gordon Brown to up the payrise?? He won't be inconvenienced will he?
If I could give everyone a payrise, I would, but I can't. I know many people in the public sector get poor wages, but below inflation payrises have been the norm for my 15 year career in the public sector. We should all be paid a decent wage, for the hard work that we do, but the reality has long been that we don't.

I hope the action results in a hefty payrise, but I will be amazed if truthfully at the end of it all, the strikers will find it was worth it.

The inconvenience will effect Gordon, if you are upset by having to pay out for childcare now and then again in September for another sector going on strike. You are not the only one that will be p*ssed off and effected like this. If this keeps hitting you in the pocket will you vote him back in next election? Will everyone that keps being effected in this way vote him back in at the next election?

It happened in 78 and it looks like the summer of discontent may well effect Gordon.

Why should below inflation payrises be the normal practice and perhaps after 15 years enough is enough.

Realsiticly 6% isn't going to happen - but you cant start at 4% of that what you want.

Surely the idea of a strike is that if enough people are inconvenienced pressure will put on the government to review the situation. Remember it isn't only schools that will be effected I know for example my wheelie bin won't be emptied next week...

Can I also point out whitetulips that it isn't just school support staff who are in Unison it is 600,000 local government workers :care assistants, refuse collectors, cleaners, social workers etc

• this isn't being done to 'inconvenience parents' - it's being done to raise awareness of the appaling levels of pay.

Of course whitetulips - you can support unison and unite if you wish You can also refuse to cross the picket line.

This will save you £50 - but of course you will not get paid for the two days you do not cross the picket line.

"Society can't do without cleaners, carers, caterers and classroom assistants. These are not "starter jobs", nor can they be filled for ever by migrants. Is it OK to pay below what Rowntree shows is minimum decency, so long as they are all proven to lack potential? Those jobs are fair only if people who do them have a respectfully decent salary that puts them at the heart and not the margins of society - and if the social ladder is short enough for children to move with ease. Consider this as low-paid public-sector workers strike against below-inflation rises, while prices surge."
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/05/education.communities

Daffodil - yes, absolutely right, and I duly eat humble pie. Was just feeling sorry for myself, facing 8.5 weeks of school summer holidays and a rainy forecast!!

Thanks for your honest reply Dot.. The sun WILL come out next week and we ARE going to have a good summer!! Hope you enjoy yours ..( keep the positive thoughts going!)

hello, just wanted to add support that its the policians and public sector managers that frustration and anger should be directed to. I know of a part of the public sector which is getting between 4-5% which shows 2.4% up severely for local gov. Although the poor old police are getting even less and its not even being back paid. As referred to earlier as well a lot of these jobs are crucial ones i.e. police, cleaners, dustmen, social workers...

Completely justified comments about the inconvenience it causes though. Let your councillors & MP know...

I have a hunch that Gordon wouldn't accept 2.4%!! Sorry just wanted to add my 2 bobs worth.

Who is getting 4-5% Dopey? It's not the teachers I can vouch for that.

The pay rise on offer is 2.45% but they also want to tie us into a three year pay deal - in other words agree now what pay rise you will be getting for the next three years. We did this a few years ago, so it is not new.

I work in a highway design office at a relatively high level (compared to a school teaching assistant or Welfare assistant), and 5-10 years ago our pay was higher than you could get out in the private sector. Even taking into account the additional hours and loss of holidays that you would have to sacrifice to work in the private sector, their salaries have risen greatly - a bit of supply and demand. I know full well I could get a job elsewhere and get at least £10k more, but I like the facility to leave at 3pm to get Dc from school.

I am not in the union, so I am going to work on wed and thurs, but out of an office of 22 there will be 5 of us in there.

We are also getting TUPE'd out on 1st October and there is a big outcry regarding our pensions.

With the costs of everything getting worse, I do wonder how the lower paid council workers manage.

From the Unison website:

Why we are going on strike
Mortgages up 8%
Petrol up 22%
Bread up 9%
Milk up 17%
Fuel bills up 15%
Inflation up 4.3%
But council workers are being offered a pay rise of just 2.45%. Take inflation into account and it's a pay CUT. Coming on top of 10 years below-inflation pay rises, it's no wonder we think this is the last straw.

So we are striking on 16 and 17 July.

Not because we want to. Many UNISON members are low-paid, part-time women workers, struggling to pay the bills - losing two days pay for strike action is not something we do lightly.

We are striking because the employers won't even consider talking to us about a better offer.

We know that the services we provide are essential to our community, and that shutting them down for two days will cause disruption and we're genuinely sorry if you are inconvenienced. We just can't afford another pay cut.

And unless we get a fair settlement on pay, local communities will suffer too. Services will simply get worse as councils continue to lose committed staff and struggle to find new employees prepared to work for such low pay.

We empty your bins, clean your schools, conduct your marriages and civil partnerships, care for your parks, check the safety of your food and look after your children in nurseries, schools and in care. And so much more.

In exchange, all we are asking for is your support for a fair pay settlement.

Would I know if my children's school was affected?

Well, we've been told nothing about any possible strike by our schools, which is par for the course as all news like this seems to come at the last minute, presumably because they assume all parents are SAHMs - or something. Interesting dilemma for me: I'm in Unison, but if I have to take time off because the children are off, can I take it as leave or will my boss regard it as my being on strike??

I am not striking because I work in a special school. It is not an option for a parent to pay £25 to look after a severely autisic child a for a day. The whole point of a strike is to cause inconvience and mayhem.

I support those who have chosen to strike though.

My son's school is not closing and did not close when the teachers went on strike. I think it would be good if both teachers and support staff went on strike on the same day. Then virtually every school in the land would be shut.

I think pople would be shocked quite how low pay is for support workers. Most LSAs are paid the minimum wage. Contrary to popular belief school support staff are not paid for holidays and they have been severely hit by the 10p tax band being scrapped.

Rachmumoftwo - the school should inform you if it is closing or not, it depends on how many staff are in Unison & whether they are supporting the strike or not.

overthehill - you need to inform your boss if you intend to strike or not. If you choose not to, then it will be like a normal day & you will get paid. I assume if you choose to work but to take a days holiday, then it will be like 'normal' for you. Personally I think the whole point of being in a union is for it to support you when you need it AND for you to support it, when asked.

They have only just decided at our school that it will be closed to pupils Wed & Thur.

We are not allowed to book leave for the two stike days - this was stated from the minute it was announced. We are allowed to take a weeks leave if we are going on hols, and it wouldnt surprise me if they asked to see travel docs just to prove you are off! we are allowed exceptional circumstances - not sure what - and you may be granted a days paid leave, else it would be unpaid leave if you did not want to cross a picket line. N ot sure what the case would be if either of the kids were ill - wold prob have to take them in with me to prove they are ill!!!

yes - also to add if we were to phone in sick on either of the days, we would need a doctors note to prove we were ill

Yes we are the same Whizz - there was two of us in our office and one guy on site (he is based there). There were 3 people on the picket line - no problems there!