Secondary teachers strike

[tocahairchop]

Any other secondary teachers in Scotland who are not keen on strike action? I get the motives behind it but not at all up for striking at this point due to disruption and the fact that times are tough for everyone. Feel like I have to justify myself to non teachers by saying 'I don't agree with striking' as it's not going to be met favourably by the public in the same way as other sectors striking over pay.

There are no academies in Scotland, though.
Teachers can only strike over specific things - better ASL support, for example, you could not legally strike over.
£42000 is top of the scale, many people are on less than that. And once you're there, that's it, unless you want to be management.

I coped last year - with inflation at over 10% am I worth 10% less this year for doing the same job? I didn't have enough extra last year to make it easy to absorb a 10% pay cut in real terms.
A day or two of school closures is nothing compared to not attracting new entrants into teaching or not being able to keep them once they're there.

OP you can always leave your union, that's a realistic option for anyone who doesn't want to strike.

@Whitestick when you put it that way it makes it sound more like something I could get on board with...inflation is over 10% and I am top of the pay scale and not interested in promoted posts so perhaps I should be more supportive of this action. And yes I have thought that I could leave the Union but don't want to be Union less...I take it the ssta will follow suit?

My school is mostly SSTA membership and yes I would say so. But ... SSTA and NASUWT ballots won't have Closed 14 days before proposed EIS strike date so my action could be illegal. Don't fancy striking illegally but don't fancy crossing and EIS picket line.

Lidfix if you have to you have to - it would be the same in reverse

@Lidlfix yes I saw that on the SSTA webpage...doesn't look like they will be striking at same time. You never know...it might be settled by the 24th although that's probably unlikely?

I think they’ll try to settle before then tbh. The SNP don’t want school closures when their education history hasn’t been great.

I think most schools would have to close. The council don’t know which staff are part of which union, they aren’t supposed to know as this causes most disruption. If teachers have children who are off because of other school closures, this has knock on effects to those trying to remain open. I think most schools will close and anyone not part of eis might be asked to wfh or travel to a centre (again childcare issues create problems in this scenario).

So I doubt you will have to cross a picket line. Members can also change to the eis within a few days of strike, so even if the school is fairly sure majority of teachers aren’t in it, then they’re still taking a gamble keeping the school open without knowing exactly how many staff will be in.

@Michellexxx so can the school not ask who is in a particular union? Is that how it works?

Usually numbers will be given not names. So HT might know I have around 50 members but not who they are. With a strike, it can help to know whether to close the school or not based on the numbers.

Correct. They aren’t allowed to ask or try to find out. The not knowing is to stop them and councils from trying to reorganise staffing and so undermine the strike itself.

We had an email today saying that basically you're in or you're out. Anyone citing childcare will be regarded as on strike and there will be no sick leave for that day either.

I think we'll get an offer to postpone it at least.

No one from another union should be asked to cover for a striking colleague. So really they should not be able to move staff around/ join up classes etc.

How can they justify banning sick leave? If you're in a road accident you can't get sick leave? The childcare issue will also apply to some SSTA staff (or non-union staff) whose children's primaries are shut. They don't have the option to strike if it's not their union.

Who was this email from? I’m fairly sure this isn’t allowed. They can’t say you’re on strike if you’re not actually on strike.

If you’re off sick, you do have to get a doctors note- even for that one day. I think that includes days leading up to it too.

What dates are proposed for the strikes? Does anyone know?

Sorry just seen it is for 24th November. 12 days in November and December?

Where are you reading about 12 days?

I just found an article online in the Scotsman from 4 days ago. Can’t seem to link it

www.scotsman.com/education/teacher-strike-scotland-union-sets-strike-date-as-teachers-vote-overwhelmingly-for-action-in-pay-dispute-3913557?amp

There we go. Further down article they say 12 days

To those saying you’d rather have more support in lessons: you’re missing the point.

By not striking, you are even further from getting more SEN support in lessons because you WILL get a pay rise but instead of that coming from the government, it will come from the school budget that pays for the little support in lessons you already get.

so by not striking, you’re effectively supporting the REDUCTION of SEN provision, resources etc.

That’s why I support a strike: not for more money but for the money to come from the right place.

This is wrong.

You're referring to another country, I'm guessing England or Wales perhaps.

This isn’t for the national strikes- this pertains to a specific school in Glasgow. There’s been serious issues there and no support from the SLT and, so, staff have voted to strike as they feel unsupported and unsafe.

The EIS did say they were meeting to go over more strike dates, but I haven’t seen anything since.

I did get an email today where the govt have apparently said they will look to offer something new to teachers but this will come from budgets elsewhere 🙄 So essentially saying you can have more money to the detriment of support/conditions which is, obviously, ridiculous.

Yes there are further days proposed but they'll be next year I think I read that somewhere.

I’m a teacher and I haven’t joined in with previous strikes. And whilst I feel striking now would be disruptive for pupils, I feel not making a stand against the current issues in education would be much more disruptive in the long run.

I am currently on maternity leave with my second child and am currently looking for a way not to have to return to teaching as I will have two under three when I do. For me,
the issue has never been about pay, this is not what will keep me in the profession. It’s ridiculous that the pay rises (that myself and many colleagues have asked for) have to come out of existing school budgets as this makes things worse for everyone.

What would make me stay is an overhaul of expectations and workload.

Pre children I always spent one whole day in my study doing paperwork and marking (10-5) and I am not prepared to do this anymore as when I wasn’t on mat leave, with my second, my then one year old
was in nursery 7am-6pm every weekday and is I would like to actually spend time with my child at the weekend, especially I am not paid to work weekends and on paper am paid for 32.5 hours a week!!!! I want a job where I am
not questioned by SLT as to why I don’t do a couple of hours work every day at 9pm once my baby is in bed. I’d like a job where if someone throws something at your 33 week pregnant stomach, they face consequences and at the very least are made to apologise.
I would like children to be able to
experience learning in a more productive environment; nearly all of my classes
are 36 and have been for 5 or 6 years. Even my groups of the very lowest ability have over
25 pupils in them now and they would have been 12-15 a few years ago. I want these massive groups to have more teaching assistant support, not less! I want those teaching assistants to have better pay and conditions.