Any teachers in the house?

Well everyone knows being a GP is easy...... Not

Sometimes wish i'd trained to be a cabinet maker or something relaxing like that.

[Messie]

Striking wasn't my prefered course of action, but as my union balloted its members and strike action was the outcome, I am taking te action today. In some ways I'd rather be at work. As usual I have loads to do and actually rather like teaching the kids. But I wouldn't not go with my unions action. I'll probably be catching up with marking at home anyway.

In response to a couple of other points, the time spent planning and prepping does get less as you get more experienced - thank goodness. But other responsibilities tend to creep into the time spent.

And as for Academies - don't get me started! This poxy government has the schools over a financial barrel to transfer over and we have to roll over and take it if we want to access normal funds. But mark my words, staff will be shafted in the end over terms and conditions of employment. I've been through this before in FE, which is now the poorest relation in education.

[timwilky]

RE strike.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Teachers have no right to deprive children of their education. To force parents at short notice to have to throw sickies in order to supervise their children on a school day.

I was in a union in the 70s. After a month strike that achieved nothing, left me worse off, I resigned. This is a return to the bad union practices of the 70s. Negotiate, and live in the real world where you can see money available for pensions, salaries etc. and give up treating the tax payer as a bottomless pit.

As for the salary of newly qualified teachers. I can tell you there are plenty of graduates out there earning less than £15,000 and would love your salaries.

I do not wish this to be a teacher bashing, but wake up, there are lots of people out there doing 48 hour weeks. living on minimum wage with no pension entitlements and the threats of redundancy. Do you seriously expect sympathy from them?

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by Red Herring

As for misconceptions.....I'm married to a GP, where shall I start?

I'm sure your missus can tell you all about those

[Biker Biggles]

Originally Posted by timwilky

RE strike.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Teachers have no right to deprive children of their education. To force parents at short notice to have to throw sickies in order to supervise their children on a school day.

I was in a union in the 70s. After a month strike that achieved nothing, left me worse off, I resigned. This is a return to the bad union practices of the 70s. Negotiate, and live in the real world where you can see money available for pensions, salaries etc. and give up treating the tax payer as a bottomless pit.

As for the salary of newly qualified teachers. I can tell you there are plenty of graduates out there earning less than £15,000 and would love your salaries.

I do not wish this to be a teacher bashing, but wake up, there are lots of people out there doing 48 hour weeks. living on minimum wage with no pension entitlements and the threats of redundancy. Do you seriously expect sympathy from them?

This is the "race to the bottom" argument that we hear so often now.Just because one group of workers has been f&cked over such that they have to work 48 hours a week or earn poverty wages,or indeed have had their pensions stolen by their employers,that is no reason why everyone else should have to put up with the same carp.The only reason any of us ever got pensions,holidays or anything more than poverty pay is because we fought long and hard for it,or our parents and grandparents did.The only way we will keep any of that is if we continue to fight for it.That's where we are now.

[Viney]

Originally Posted by bluefishman

Ralph, 16hrs a day for 22k, that's less than minimum wage, no wonder there going on strike.

I hate this argument. They know what its like before they join up. So this is NOT an argument.

However, it is shocking that certian frontline professions, teachers, Fire, Nurses, and even those copper types do for the money they get paid.

[Viney]

Originally Posted by SoulKiss

I'm sure your missus can tell you all about those

But you will only get 5 minutes and a prescription for Pain Killers

[Biker Biggles]

Originally Posted by Viney

I hate this argument. They know what its like before they join up. So this is NOT an argument.

However, it is shocking that certian frontline professions, teachers, Fire, Nurses, and even those copper types do for the money they get paid.

I don't think you do know what it's like before you join up.Yes you have some idea,but until you actually do a job you can have little concept of the daily stresses and rigour of it.Similarly the job will change over your career,with extra demands making it totally different to what you signed up for.People become trapped in their jobs as they took education and qualifications to do that job which may be of little or no use elsewhere.It's very simplistic to just say if you don't like the way things are go away and do something else,especially if you have done a job for a long time,were very good at it,and now find the goalposts have moved for no real reason other than a recent managerial fashion parade has moved in a certain direction.

[TamSV]

Originally Posted by Biker Biggles

This is the "race to the bottom" argument that we hear so often now.Just because one group of workers has been f&cked over such that they have to work 48 hours a week or earn poverty wages,or indeed have had their pensions stolen by their employers,that is no reason why everyone else should have to put up with the same carp.

True, but the Unions counter argument is equally bogus. I heard a representative on the news making the point that public sector workers shouldn't be brought down to the level of the private sector but, rather, they would like to see private sector pensions brought up to the level of the public sector.

They must know what they're saying is utter nonsense. A retirement age of 60 and final salary pensions for all? It's unaffordable and removes too much productive capacity from the economy.

60 isn't "old" these days. Many pensioners go on to be retired longer than they worked. It's a crazy situation.

There needs to be a readjustment of our expectations of what the state should provide to all of us in retirement. Public sector workers aren't going to be immune from that.

I have no sympathy for those on strike, at least they get a pension, yes they do hard jobs but if they don't like it change profession, I know what my boss would say if I said I was striking unless they gave me a pension. I'm 23 unless I save for a pension I ain't getting one off our tight fisted government, maybe I should refuse to pay any tax until I am guaranteed one.