The Teachers Strike On Thursday

[Seasider]

Funny how whenever THE most valuable members of the community (i.e. the key workers - binmen, teachers, transport workers, members of the emergency services) call a strike, or even raise the prospect of one, there's an almighty hoo-ha and a lot of pig-ignorant venom spat out. Whereas if every web designer or financial consultant in the land went on indefinite strike, nobody would ever give a f***. Or even notice.

Support the teachers

 

[acrossthepond]

If they start on £23K, then someone is stealing wages. Inner or Outer London get those wages to cover the additional costs of travel and housing in that area. Rest of them? £20K to £21K. And £2K-£3K is a lot of difference!

Fair enough, I'm happy to be corrected. I got this info from my sister, and she's in London.

 

[HampshireSeagulls]

Fair enough, I'm happy to be corrected. I got this info from my sister, and she's in London.

Of course, the other problem with the low starting wages is that the student loans get taken out as well. Quite a crippler.

Anyway, I like teaching because I have a class of Portsmouth, Liverpool and Man Utd supporters (all 10 years old and accordingly rabid about their teams). So when Riise scores a cracking own goal, Ronaldo stuffs a penalty, and Portsmouth lose to Cardiff in the FA Cup Final to a 99th minute handballed own goal, it makes it all worthwhile!

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Now playing on Windows Media Player: P.Paul Fenech - 04.A Bastards Advice
via FoxyTunes

 

[acrossthepond]

Funny how whenever THE most valuable members of the community (i.e. the key workers - binmen, teachers, transport workers, members of the emergency services) call a strike, or even raise the prospect of one, there's an almighty hoo-ha and a lot of pig-ignorant venom spat out. Whereas if every web designer or financial consultant in the land went on indefinite strike, nobody would ever give a f***. Or even notice.

Support the teachers

Thats's true to a point. But these key workers don't directly generate any money for the country. Without all the other people designing, making and selling stuff, the country would have no money to pay for public sector workers.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Thats's true to a point. But these key workers don't directly generate any money for the country. Without all the other people designing, making and selling stuff, the country would have no money to pay for public sector workers.

Um, I believe key workers, like everybody else, pay TAXES for that kind of stuff?

 

[Questions]

Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.

 

[acrossthepond]

Um, I believe key workers, like everybody else, pay TAXES for that kind of stuff?

You're joking, right?

So as a really simple example, if a key worker pays 22% of their total salary (approx, inc NI contributions) to the government who pays for the other 78% of their salaries?

That's before you start paying for hospitals, trains, building roads, the army, schools etc...

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

So as a really simple example, if a key worker pays 22% of their total salary (approx, inc NI contributions) to the government who pays for the other 78% of their salaries?

Sorry, are you talking about money being paid BY key workers or money being paid TO key workers? Makes no sense as written

I take it you're not a maths teacher by profession then?

 

[Robot Chicken]

Can't imagine why....

What on earth are you insinuating?

 

[El Presidente]

Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.

Those that can't teach
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Lecture

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Interesting that on the one hand, people bemoan the apparently falling standard of education in this country, yet on the other, criticise the only people with the power to positively influence that fact.

The holiday situation is the one thing that people think of when they talk about teachers, but I suppose the downside of that is that they then have to pay twice the price as someone whose holiday period isn't dictated by term times.

I have a mate who teaches, and she is not only extremely professional, but works very hard. Even during the two week Easter break, she spent much of the time marking GSCE assignments, so I doubt it's a exactly an easy life.

It's not a job you join for the money I guess, but for the other less tangible rewards. Bearing in mind what some teachers have to put up with these days, as far as I'm concerned they more than earn their salaries.

 

[dougdeep]

But at the end of the day, the strike was completely unnecessary and will get them nowhere.

 

[itszamora]

What on earth are you insinuating?

Nothing I'll write down here as we don't want you threatening to sue anyone again, do we?

As for the actual topic, I'm fully in support of the teachers. They are paid f*** all and to be given a below inflation raise is just a joke.

 

[Robot Chicken]

Nothing I'll write down here as we don't want you threatening to sue anyone again, do we?

Please enlighten me, I am mystified!

 

[acrossthepond]

Sorry, are you talking about money being paid BY key workers or money being paid TO key workers? Makes no sense as written

Try again.

Key workers earning around 22k pay about 4.8K in total per year to the government in tax and NI.

But the government pays their salary. So for every 22k that the government pays out, it gets 4.8K back again.

So where does the government get the rest of the money to pay public servants salaries?

Answer - from all those other people that generate wealth through commerce, of one kind or another.

And no, I'm not a maths teacher. If I was, I would probably have explained the first example more clearly, as that would be my profession.

 

[London Calling]

I am in a union to protect me from complaint, just not the union campaigning behind this particular strike.

There are many teachers who are not behind this one, not just because it is so ill timed but because payment negotiations have not even taken place yet. Let's hear the outcome of the negotiations before kicking up a fuss and disrupting those that matter - The kids.

'AS' levels are 3/4 weeks away, SATs are next week and GCSEs around 6 weeks away, unfortunately I feel the only ones who will suffer out of this is those that should matter the most.

REASONED RESPONSE.

 

[London Calling]

Try again.

Key workers earning around 22k pay about 4.8K in total per year to the government in tax and NI.

But the government pays their salary. So for every 22k that the government pays out, it gets 4.8K back again.

So where does the government get the rest of the money to pay public servants salaries?

Answer - from all those other people that generate wealth through commerce, of one kind or another.

hOWEVER. Nat Insurance and Tax would equate to 30% of salary, plus everything they buy has 17.5% VAT, average person pays more tax via VAT than income tax, plus Council Tax.

The average teacher pays more tax than you may realise.

Whilst of course a self-employed web designer with an accountant, such as buzzer, could end up paying no or a minimum amount of tax!

Certainly lower than if they were an employee,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[acrossthepond]

hOWEVER. Nat Insurance and Tax would equate to 30% of salary, plus everything they buy has 17.5% VAT, average person pays more tax via VAT than income tax, plus Council Tax.

The average teacher pays more tax than you may realise.

Yup, they pay even more on top in indirect taxation. Hence my earlier rant

Doesn't change the fact that a country is dependent on the contributions of its workers in the private sector to pay its public servants. Though that's stating the bleeding obvious.

 

[El Presidente]

But also fair to say that the private sector needs the outputs of the public sector, in terms of an educated, skilled, flexible and mobile workforce, to produce the services and products that generate revenues.

It's a chicken and egg relationship.

 

[clapham_gull]

Quite how someone who teaches isn't seen as helping the economy is beyond me.