PENSIONS STRIKES;HOLIDAY MISERY EXPECTED

Pensions Strikes: Holiday Misery Expected
10 Comments9:34am UK, Wednesday June 29, 2011

Travellers have been warned to prepare for long delays at passport control as UK Border Agency staff join up to 750,000 striking public sector workers tomorrow.

Thousands of schools, job centres, tax offices and courts are also expected to be closed or badly disrupted by the planned 24-hour walkout over pensions.

Holidaymakers and business travellers are set for a day of frustration - and the UK Border Agency has written to airlines suggesting they advise passengers to travel on an "alternative day".

Jonathan Sedgwick, acting chief executive of the agency, said: "We will do everything we can to minimise disruption and inconvenience to travellers.



Passengers are likely to face long delays at airports


"But our priority will always be to ensure that the UK border remains secure."

Parents across England and Wales will be forced to make alternative childcare arrangements as teachers join the action.

Driving tests will also be cancelled, while picket lines will be mounted outside Government departments.


It is probably not unlawful but we would strongly advise our members not to accept voluntary help to cover for absent staff this Thursday.

Russell Hobby, National Association of Head Teachers general secretary
More than 3,700 schools in 80 areas are likely to be hit by the industrial action being taken by members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).

Across England, it means a total of more than 7,500 schools will be forced to close or partially close.

And the University and College Union (UCU) say a strike by its members will cause "significant disruption" at 350 colleges and 75 universities.


business secretary: The strikes are unnecessary
Schools had been given until Wednesday to decide whether or not to support the plans, so the numbers hit by the walkout may rise.

The NUT believes 85% of schools could be affected, which equates to around 17,000 state schools, collectively educating millions of pupils.

The Government says "rigorous" contingency plans are in place to ensure essential services are maintained during the strike.


These strikes are wrong. It is the changes we propose that are right.

Prime Minister David Cameron urges workers to call off the strike
But the National Association of Head Teachers has expressed "grave concerns" about Education Secretary Michael Gove's suggestion that parents could volunteer to cover for striking teachers.

General secretary Russell Hobby said: "It is probably not unlawful but we would strongly advise our members not to accept voluntary help to cover for absent staff this Thursday."

The Public and Commercial Services Union said it expects its members in jobcentres, tax office Government departments, driving test centres, ports, courts and airports to strongly support the strike.

The Country is on it"s knees yet these selfish B***ers , secure in their jobs, with Pensions, can yet again try to hold the Country to ransom .

A Teacher was moaning yesterday that she will have to work until she is 68 and have a reduced Pension ...........what a shame!!!! She might be dead
before then. The Teachers Union says they hope volunteers will not be used, what about the thousands of Mothers who have to work?????

A DAY CENTRE WORKER ON THE MINIBUS SAID THAT THERE WILL PROPERBLY BE LOTS OF CHILDREN OFF SCHOOL IN THE TOWN CENTRE,COULD THIS BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BOOST THE ECONOMY WITH MORE PEOPLE IN THE TOWN CENTRES

Badboy wrote:A DAY CENTRE WORKER ON THE MINIBUS SAID THAT THERE WILL PROPERBLY BE LOTS OF CHILDREN OFF SCHOOL IN THE TOWN CENTRE,COULD THIS BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BOOST THE ECONOMY WITH MORE PEOPLE IN THE TOWN CENTRES

Could be Badboy, but I doubt they have much money.

Panda wrote:

Badboy wrote:A DAY CENTRE WORKER ON THE MINIBUS SAID THAT THERE WILL PROPERBLY BE LOTS OF CHILDREN OFF SCHOOL IN THE TOWN CENTRE,COULD THIS BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BOOST THE ECONOMY WITH MORE PEOPLE IN THE TOWN CENTRES

Could be Badboy, but I doubt they have much money.

didn't think of that one,slightly off topic,i wonder who will next retail casuality?

Panda wrote:

The Country is on it"s knees yet these selfish B***ers , secure in their jobs, with Pensions, can yet again try to hold the Country to ransom .

A Teacher was moaning yesterday that she will have to work until she is 68 and have a reduced Pension ...........what a shame!!!! She might be dead
before then. The Teachers Union says they hope volunteers will not be used, what about the thousands of Mothers who have to work?????

The country isn't on its kness but it will be if the government is able to carry out all of its policies, the austerity programmes are killing the countries in Europe. So, I do find it somewhat offensive to call people who are fighting for their rights selfish B***ers. If it weren't for the unions and people fighting and dying for workers rights, we would all be slaves right now. Also, why should someone have to work until they are 68 and have a reduced pension, it is inhumane to ask that of people. Or do you prefer to return to the Victorian era. This is class warfare whereby the rich no longer want to redistribute the wealth and perfer to keep it all to themselves.
Sure, strikes are an inconvenience but if someone doesn't stand up you will all be f**ked and with absolutely no rights and at the mercy of the big bosses!! I lived in Paris during the May '68 revolts and workers went on strike all over the country. Sure, it was inconvenient, no metro, had to walk everywhere but I supported them. In the end they won and the Accords de Grenelle were drawn up, with the workers winning more rights, substantial pay rises, etc. and do you know what the result was. It wasn't the end of the economy but on the contrary, there was a boom and jobs everywhere. People had buying power, working was a pleasure not a punishment. Now the EU wants to end all of this because it is working for the rich capitalists and does not have the interests of the working people at heart. They want to get rid of public services and privatise everything, which means paying more for less.

Carolina

I was an active Union Member and the one out all out Policy resulted in our Manaufactoring base being lost with all the Strikes in the 70"s and 80"s.
Teachers can take early Retirement , the fact that Britain is 18th in Europe for the standard of Education , even Estonia beats us, doesn"t say much for the
standard of Education .

Gordon Brown increased Public Sector employment hugely and yet there is not one Department functioning well. When hard working people in the Private
Sector are being made redundant , Bosch has just cclosed down near where I live, the Business being transferred to Hungary , thousands of workers out
of a job. There was a time when Unions were essential back in the dark days but let them protest on Saturday or Sunday, non working days for many.
I have had many jobs in my Career, the NHS, Bank, Accountancy , Retail, even Office cleaning so do feel qualified to offer a reasoned opinion. The Public
Sector have always been cushioned and Teachers are not badly off , believe me.

Panda wrote:Carolina

I was an active Union Member and the one out all out Policy resulted in our Manaufactoring base being lost with all the Strikes in the 70"s and 80"s.
Teachers can take early Retirement , the fact that Britain is 18th in Europe for the standard of Education , even Estonia beats us, doesn"t say much for the
standard of Education .

Gordon Brown increased Public Sector employment hugely and yet there is not one Department functioning well. When hard working people in the Private
Sector are being made redundant , Bosch has just cclosed down near where I live, the Business being transferred to Hungary , thousands of workers out
of a job. There was a time when Unions were essential back in the dark days but let them protest on Saturday or Sunday, non working days for many.
I have had many jobs in my Career, the NHS, Bank, Accountancy , Retail, even Office cleaning so do feel qualified to offer a reasoned opinion. The Public
Sector have always been cushioned and Teachers are not badly off , believe me.

Quite right, the public sector has always been cushioned. Teachers are not badly paid and their pensions are not 10,000K as quoted by one on BBC Breakfast the other day. The public sector has never had to put its hand in its pocket to pay for their pensions. They have always been non-contributory. Now they have to get in line with everyone else and pay for their pensions, they don't like it. My sister-in law is a nurse and has always bemoaned the pay but in real terms she is paid very well. Private sector has always lagged behind the public sector when it comes to level of pay and pensions. The workers in the publlic sector want to be bloody glad they still have jobs when so many others are losing theirs. I read the mail on line and the other day there was an article about the strikes etc and it said that one of the leaders had just had a 3% pay increase. Ironic when you think that everyone else is having to make do with no pay increase for the last 2 years or more, longer hours etc. Still, I would think that like L'Oreal (sp) he thinks he is worth it!

If people want to live in a democracy which means freedom of speech and the right to march and protest PEACEFULLY and the right of workers to strike if they feel they are being treated unfairly , thats what living in a democracy means or would all the people complaining prefer to live in China or the Middle East where they get executed for daring to speak out , its very unfortunate that a few hotheads highjack these peaceful demo,s and otherwise spoil what is every free persons right .We on this forum are very fond of talking about freedom of speech and if we believe in that then we must also surely believe in a persons right to fight against what they consider unfair.

halfamo wrote:If people want to live in a democracy which means freedom of speech and the right to march and protest PEACEFULLY and the right of workers to strike if they feel they are being treated unfairly , thats what living in a democracy means or would all the people complaining prefer to live in China or the Middle East where they get executed for daring to speak out , its very unfortunate that a few hotheads highjack these peaceful demo,s and otherwise spoil what is every free persons right .We on this forum are very fond of talking about freedom of speech and if we believe in that then we must also surely believe in a persons right to fight against what they consider unfair.

Hi halfamo

I have no quarrel with the right to protest, it"s when that right is abused and people are held to ransom and this is what is happening today. Travellers
unable to take the flight booked because Airport Wokers are on strike, children unable to go to school because there are no Teachers to teach them, Pensioners unable to receive their Pensions on time......the list goes on. There is a Country, can"t remember which ,where the right to strike is allowed
but the Strikers are not paid and are fined for the disruption they cause to the Public., as I say, strike on Saturday or Sunday. It is a well known fact
that Public Sector Pensions have been grossly underfunded for years , mainly because people are living longer so this is why the changes have been made.

If people go on strike its obviously going to cause some distruption would,nt be much point in striking otherwise , perhaps if the present goverment stopped giving away money hand over fist in foreign aid and funding Camerons war in Libia at the same time asking people in the UK tighten their belts there may be money to fund pensions , its a fact this goverment is borrowing more each month than the last just to give it away to places like India & pakistan sorry charity should begin at home. The UK is not on its knees but it will be if this motely crew go on with their promised cuts they are nothing but a bunch of rich boys playing at politics and its the ordinary man on the street thats suffering, i don,t surpose Cameron or Osborne needs to toss up whether to put the heating on of buy food perhaps they should give some thought to the poor pensioners who are getting poorer under this c*ckup of a goverment. When Thatcher was prime minster i was a young mum struggling to bring up two children and i will never forget or forgive what she did to the UK and this bunch are no different .They got into power on the big lie and enough people believed them , i bet there,s a few won,t be voting for them again and you,ve seen nothing yet.Sorry panda we will have to agree to disagree on this.

I don't know what to make of it all but l saw this on sky:

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Public-Vs-Private-Sector-Pensions-Who-Is-Better-Off-In-Retirement/Article/201106416021556?lpos=Business_Carousel_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_16021556_Public_Vs_Private_Sector_Pensions%3A_Who_Is_Better_Off_In_Retirement

Only the public sector pensions have increased!

IMO their pensions should be left alone until our huge deficit is paid off THEN think about how to increase them. Having got kids at school and what teachers have to do l would never want to be one with their huge workload, sure they get many weeks off but in term time they do lots of marking and arranging in the evenings.

That"s what democracy is all about, the right to think for oneself and I would not attempt to change your point of view, but you are wrong in your assumption that these cuts are not necessary. Gordon Brown borrowed from Middle East Countries rather than have to go throught the IMF and is paying
12% interest, the invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan and now possible Pakistakan both in Lives and money has cost countless millions and I agree, charity begins at home, plus the huge influx of immigants which has to be addressed. However, to find a Leader strong enough and fair enough to put the Country
back on it"s feet is impossible. Trouble is, it"s not just Britain , if Greece defaults we will all be affected, which is why Germany, riding high and exporting
much more has the most to lose.

Public sector pensions cannot be sustained.Especially 'final salary' pensions.

There is festering in society a them and us culture which will get worse.

These people,Police,Firemen,Teachers,Civil Servants etc can retire in their early 50's on almost 2/3rds of their salarys.Then the rest of us have to keep them for maybe another 30 or 40 years as they all live longer than us anyway because they've had an easier life (especially local government servants who mostly do bugger all).

Thats all i have to say about that,i'm not bitter at all.

Panda wrote:That"s what democracy is all about, the right to think for oneself and I would not attempt to change your point of view, but you are wrong in your assumption that these cuts are not necessary. Gordon Brown borrowed from Middle East Countries rather than have to go throught the IMF and is paying
12% interest, the invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan and now possible Pakistakan both in Lives and money has cost countless millions and I agree, charity begins at home, plus the huge influx of immigants which has to be addressed. However, to find a Leader strong enough and fair enough to put the Country
back on it"s feet is impossible. Trouble is, it"s not just Britain , if Greece defaults we will all be affected, which is why Germany, riding high and exporting
much more has the most to lose.

God no Panda believe me l know they are, l have seen what the Labour party did for this country. I've co-run a business for 26 years (to do with in construction industry) and knew a deep recession was coming a few years ago, when prices were riding high aswell as interest rates l knew it wasn't sustainable in the long run. And the war was never ours!! but Blair was intent on taking us into war that he mistook us for fools. I remember being furious when Brown decimated the pensions and sold off our gold reserves when the price was low and also when he bailed out the banks l said he should have made sure that bonuses should never have been paid whilst the banks owed us that public money back......

BTW it's very quiet out there construction wise, me and my business partner have always said there'll be a double dip recession but
the Government won't tell you that, but this winter is going to be worse than last IMO, it's terrible companies going to the wall everyday because there's too much taxation and legislation for small businesses. oooh l could go on,..

No, the cuts have to be made but what l mean is don't cut their pensions at the moment, as it's too inflammatory making them strike amid all this gloom and doom - just keep them as they are for now and ride the tide until it turns, then see what should be done.

Yes cuts are necessary if a Labour goverment had been in cuts would have to have been made ,but this is not about politics .As for Greece i,m puzzled why the situation in Greece is used as a example its two different things UK is,nt part of the single currency and if Greece ditched the Euro its said they would recover.As for Germany they have always had a strong manufacturing base instead of relying on the finacial base , i will be surprised if this single currency survives it really can,t work properly while every countries finacial base is different they would need to control all from Brussels and thats what imo is what Germany wants .Taking these poor countries into the euro zone is another problem what the UK should do is pull out and leave them to it.As for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars i was against them both as i,m against the meddling in Lybia all about oil ,the scenes in Syria are horrific but i have,nt noticed any rush to liberate them .

head teachers are to strike,76% voted in favour

MY DAY CENTRE IS TO CLOSE SO THE STAFF CAN COVER OTHER PLACES

Badboy wrote:head teachers are to strike,76% voted in favour

Well, they wouldn't be missed! Mostly they're admin people these days.

AnnaEsse wrote:

Badboy wrote:head teachers are to strike,76% voted in favour

Well, they wouldn't be missed! Mostly they're admin people these days.

ADMIN PEOPLE?
PERHAPS A LOT OF THOSE STRIKING SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED TO START UP ECOMMERCE WEBSITES TO SUPPLEMENT THEIR PENSIONS.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THESE KIDS LEARNING, MANY LEAVING SCHOOL ILLERATE ETC.

I rarely have read such a load of biased hogwash as I have on this thread. I left the teaching profession after 20 years because I was getting too bloody old and too tired to cope, quite frankly, with the students that were being sent to me. I paid into a pension and was not well off at all. One of my ex-colleagues- who is still there- now tells me that they have had no pay rise for three years (so in real terms, a pay cut); she will now have to work until she is 68; our expected pensions after 30 years contributions would have been around £14k, now that is expected to drop to around £9 and a half k. Her pension contributions will also increase by around £90 per month, and that is after tax. I left at a time when there was a voluntary redundancy scheme, there are now around 2/3 of the people that were there before, but they are expected to still do the same amount of work and they are simply not coping. The education of the students is suffering greatly. Teachers are not there for the money - they are there because it is a vocation - and that sense of responsibility and caring is being abused by this Government. All the public sector workers are being made to pay for the mistakes of others, and the Government is hitting them because they are easy targets. It just makes me so angry to hear ignorant people saying "but they get six weeks holiday" and "they don't do very much"; quite frankly they do not have the first clue about what really goes on in a modern school. I am sorry if this offends some on here, but the ignorant comments I have just witnessed on here have made me so angry. Save your indignance and righteous outrage for the people who caused this bloody mess in the first place, and who should be made to pay for it.

nasuwt have rejected latest pension deal(SKY NEWS)

So have the NUT.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16442607