Strike!

[hash tag]

Sadly not striking, my union accepted a crap local authority pay offer which idiots readily accepted because it was a nice little back dated cash sum in their pockets.
Little di they realise that the pay rise was well below the rate of inflation.
Solidarity with all those striking and may many more join in.

 

[AmateurAgitator]

All the best to all those striking

 

[Louis MacNeice]

Mrs MacNeice is striking today; she is a primary school teacher. I am on leave so will accompany her to the march and rally, proudly sporting my CWU hi-vis. Good luck everybody.

Cheers - Louis MacNeice

 

[Pickman's model]

Sadly not striking, my union accepted a crap local authority pay offer which idiots readily accepted because it was a nice little back dated cash sum in their pockets.
Little di they realise that the pay rise was well below the rate of inflation.
Solidarity with all those striking and may many more join in.

We were reballoted recently but didn't meet the threshold. Being preballoted now, a survey to gauge opinion - I'm up for it as it'll cost me more in future if we don't strike now

 

[hash tag]

How many many more will it take to strike before the government falls?

 

[Pickman's model]

How many many more will it take to strike before the government falls?

Not so many if we all give them a shove

 

[existentialist]

Solidarity to everyone striking today.

 

[kebabking]

Mrs K has opened school because she wants to feed a number of vunerable kids who, if she didn't would a) go hungry, and b) would be sat listening to DV and addiction. Only named vunerable kids are in (15 out of 300+), TA's are in doing prep and looking after those who are in, 75% of teachers on strike, others in doing prep.

#2 is off, her high school is closed with only 6th formers in, though whether any turn up..

#3's primary school is completely open. She was not happy this morning.

I'm at home with #2 - well, ok, walking the dog...



Even sent an email to #2's head of year that she'll not be doing any of the work set for today, or any time online stuff they might set.

 

[platinumsage]

How many many more will it take to strike before the government falls?

The government won't fall prior to their preferred election date if people carry on striking a couple days a month. Continuous indefinite strikes would be a different matter.

 

[kebabking]

The government won't fall prior to their preferred election date if people carry on striking a couple days a month. Continuous indefinite strikes would be a different matter.

I disagree. COVID has taught us that sitting at home of a week with our kids is entirely possible - the real disruption of strike action is the on/off/on/off nature of it.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Continuous indefinite strikes would be a different matter.

Feels like that would still require a serious change in both attitude from and support for members.

Obviously don't know what it's like across the unions/nations, but honestly don't know how many members have that kind of fight in them at present. Observing trade union tradition/principles, particularly the more hardline ones, is still lower on the priority list for many folk, I think.

 

[Bus Honeygun]

Decent turnout for the rally in Exeter. Mainly teachers but a fair contingent from PCS and ASLEF.

EDIT: The after-march indoor event filled its 500 venue capacity so there was an overspill gathering outside as well. Good numbers for a relatively small city.

 

[Smokeandsteam]

The government won't fall prior to their preferred election date if people carry on striking a couple days a month. Continuous indefinite strikes would be a different matter.

One day strikes won't get it done for sure. But we also need the strikes to spread outside of the public sector and into parts of the economy where profit and the flow of goods and capital are disrupted.

 

[belboid]

Plenty of public sector jobs disrupt capital and profit flows - and not just teachers and transport workers.

 

[The39thStep]

How many many more will it take to strike before the government falls?

These strikes haven't the objective of bringing down the government tbh.

 

[Sue]

These strikes haven't the objective of bringing down the government tbh.

...although, y'know...

(Yes, not what they're for and not going to happen but if it somehow did, well )

 

[Miss-Shelf]

I'm on strike today UCU member. I can hear the updates on my phone of people in an exam board meeting and feel sad at how many colleagues haven't observed the strike

 

[platinumsage]

I disagree. COVID has taught us that sitting at home of a week with our kids is entirely possible - the real disruption of strike action is the on/off/on/off nature of it.

Not really, for example nurse strikes are covered by e.g. consultants caring for patients that would normally get a nurse, that may sustainable for the odd day but certainly not longer term.

 

[kebabking]

Not really, for example nurse strikes are covered by e.g. consultants caring for patients that would normally get a nurse, that may sustainable for the odd day but certainly not longer term.

Horses for courses?

If schools close for a week I simply book a week's leave and we go on holiday, or have a staycation - it's easy to manage, I can plan for it.

If nurses go on strike for week and the NHS grounds to a halt with the dying left in car parks (would we notice the difference etc..), we simply stop doing anything.

I teachers going on strike in a 5 day block isn't the problem that 5 individual random strike days is, while the opposite is true for NHS workers.

 

[belboid]

I'm on strike today UCU member. I can hear the updates on my phone of people in an exam board meeting and feel sad at how many colleagues haven't observed the strike

checked on my team Skype to see how many were out - looks like only 3 people out of thirty odd Half of staff are agency so not allowed to strike, but still

 

[belboid]

If schools close for a week I simply book a week's leave and we go on holiday, or have a staycation - it's easy to manage, I can plan for it.

Most people couldn't do that. A weeks holiday just to cover a strike? I like my holidays as holidays.

 

[flypanam]

 

[hash tag]

These strikes haven't the objective of bringing down the government tbh.

shame, but hey

 

[Chilli.s]

Solidarity!

 

[aqua]

Another union member here out. No picket for us today, so I've spent the day doing all those jobs that never get done. I'm not sure how many will have been out from our place this time.

 

[MickiQ]

My internet was off all morning so maybe it was on strik in solidarity. Mrs Q isn't on strike since she is NASUWT that didn't make the threshold. About a quarter to a third of the teachers at her school are in NASUWT rather than NEU but the headmaster clearly decided not to bother and just shut the school for the day except for the canteen staff who came in to feed those kids entitled to a free lunch (which for a sought after school in a nice middle class area is not many).
Mrs Q is treating the day as an extra paid day off and since Grandson 1's primary has also shut for the day. She has picked up Eldest and the boys and gone to the park for some quality Grandma time leaving both SiL and myself to work in peace or rather just stare blankly at the screen in my case.

 

[Miss-Shelf]

My internet was off all morning so maybe it was on strik in solidarity. Mrs Q isn't on strike since she is NASUWT that didn't make the threshold. About a quarter to a third of the teachers at her school are in NASUWT rather than NEU but the headmaster clearly decided not to bother and just shut the school for the day except for the canteen staff who came in to feed those kids entitled to a free lunch (which for a sought after school in a nice middle class area is not many).
Mrs Q is treating the day as an extra paid day off and since Grandson 1's primary has also shut for the day. She has picked up Eldest and the boys and gone to the park for some quality Grandma time leaving both SiL and myself to work in peace or rather just stare blankly at the screen in my case.

My internet was off all morning so maybe it was on strik in solidarity. Mrs Q isn't on strike since she is NASUWT that didn't make the threshold. About a quarter to a third of the teachers at her school are in NASUWT rather than NEU but the headmaster clearly decided not to bother and just shut the school for the day except for the canteen staff who came in to feed those kids entitled to a free lunch (which for a sought after school in a nice middle class area is not many).
Mrs Q is treating the day as an extra paid day off and since Grandson 1's primary has also shut for the day. She has picked up Eldest and the boys and gone to the park for some quality Grandma time leaving both SiL and myself to work in peace or rather just stare blankly at the screen in my case.

It's not too late for them to join the NEU

 

[MickiQ]

It's not too late for them to join the NEU

Mrs Q reckons that NASUWT is a far better union

 

[The39thStep]

Mrs Q reckons that NASUWT is a far better union

It's also a minority union in the school by the sound of it . Surely better to have workers in a union that have the capacity to shut the school or workplace than to rely on the headteacher? A friend of mine in the UK has moved to NEU from NASUWT and sent me a link to a discussion on Mumsnet of all places Changing Union to strike - Mumsnet

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Mrs Q reckons that NASUWT is a far better union

Does she say why? One of the things I would consider as being a better union would be whether it takes strike action or not.