Strike on here?

Enright

following on from teacher conferences of this week

will national teachers strike in support of smaller classes?

will tui members strike for action on distruptive students?

will asti members support their colleagues?

spurious

Maybe we'll all strike at the nonsense of being required to pay an external body an annual fee so that we can get paid.:rolleyes:

There's always a certain amount of sabre-rattling at the conferences, but it really is a missed opportunity that in the times of milk and honey, which apparently are starting to fizzle out, the DES never took the opportunity to at a minimum lower the PTR and bring all schools up to a minimum standard equipment-wise.

corcaighcailin9

As an INTO member i'd be willing to strike as I think it's the only way the gvt will listen to us

Xhristy

This post has been deleted.

corcaighcailin9

I did my Leaving the year the ASTI went on strike. I can't remember it being that big a deal, only that the usual messers thought it would be hillarious to pretend to teachers that they were p!ssed off about it and gave them a hard time but any of us who had any desire to do well just used the days to study at home. I know it's no substitute for having classes but I know a good few of my teachers were not in favour but had to do as their union wanted.
There's precious few ways we as teachers at both primary and post-primary levels can get the government to listen to us. Unfortunately they have walked all over us for years. I can't speak for all teachers, obviously, but I would be willing to strike as a last resort as I really can't see any other way.

TheDriver

The public don't seem to have any comprehension that there is a serious lack of cash to run a school and Hanafin keeps beating the drum that we should shut up and just do our jobs. Well, try doing it in substandard conditions with little or no support from the Dept. Try ringing up looking for syllabus or anything of the like or even trying to find out about salary or pensions. Its always empty promises and she uses the fact of our holidays etc to make the public think we do nothing but complain when we have an easy job.
Unions are vital and yeah, they may not do the best job all the time but what would it be like if there were no unions, i would be very scared..............

Trotter

I can see the INTO going on strike first if it happens at all. It'll be very interesting to see how the level of support from parents is on this. Yes all parents want their child taught in a class of 20 or less, but will they support the teachers if they strike to force the issue.

Or..

Will the parents scream about having nobody to mind little Johhny for the day.

I hope its the former.

gaeilgegrinds

I think that there will be strikes, people have no idea of the problems we have & are not prepared to listen. All I ever get is people saying we get half the year off, they don't know how many cars ahve been damaged, property stolen, how much abuse (verbally & physically in a few cases) that we've taken in our school.
As for the class sizes, it's ridiculous. I can not imgaine trying to teach 30 small people, I'm lucky in that my largest class has 22 Junior Certs, and I can tell you even that is no laughing matter.

Tom Dunne

TheDriver wrote: »

The public don't seem to have any comprehension that there is a serious lack of cash to run a school and Hanafin keeps beating the drum that we should shut up and just do our jobs. Well, try doing it in substandard conditions with little or no support from the Dept.

Playing devil's advocate here for a minute.

Is the lack of support from the public apathy, begrudgery, or a sense of higher priority? I don't have kids, so I haven't much dealings with the school system, but is it a case of the likes of the health service being such a shambles being a higher priority?

I am not for a minute trying to detract from the fact that kids are being taught in rat-infested pre-fabs, but for me personally, I would see the health service shambles a higher priority.

I think if the unions were to look for support, they damn well better get parents onside before they start anything. Otherwise, they will be met with apathy and begrudgery.

Now, where's that teflon suit?

Trotter

Tom Dunne wrote: »

I think if the unions were to look for support, they damn well better get parents onside before they start anything. Otherwise, they will be met with apathy and begrudgery.

Good point.. but.. How? I think if the INTO stirke over class sizes, then it forces parents to play their card.

Do they A) Agree that their child deserves better and support the teachers in their efforts to improve the education of the parents' children?

or Kick up a fuss and say get back into the overcrowded class.. I've to go to work and I'm not paying a childminder.

I think it would be very very hypocritical of parents to criticise a strike on the grounds of class sizes. Its not like its a teachers pay issue (yet).

I for one will be massively disillusioned IF this goes as far as a strike and we get grief from parents for trying to improve their childrens' chances in education.

I do expect a lot of support from parents but only if the reasons for striking are made very very clear.

Tom Dunne

Trotter wrote: »

Good point.. but.. How?

Make sure any strike is not about pay and conditions (which, correct me if I am wrong, it is not about).

Trotter wrote: »

Do they A) Agree that their child deserves better and support the teachers in their efforts to improve the education of the parents' children?

They have to. I know if I had kids, this is what I would want.

Trotter wrote: »

or Kick up a fuss and say get back into the overcrowded class.. I've to go to work and I'm not paying a childminder.

Sadly, there will be a select few who will be of this viewpoint.

Trotter wrote: »

I do expect a lot of support from parents but only if the reasons for striking are made very very clear.

And this is key, I think. I personally don't have time for unions, but in situations such as this, they are a necessary evil. If they make it about pay and conditions, they are onto a loser straight away. Let's be honest here, the vast majority of 9-5 workers would kill for the holidays of a teacher. But in that, they fail to see the bigger picture, such as resourcing, stress, etc.

If, however, the aim is to highlight the conditions under which kids have to learn, then I think there will be more support for strike action.

Enright

some great opinions coming out!

for my tupence worth, teachers will march, hold mass protests but will not go on strike

joe public wants small classes but will not take a day off to mind their children if teachers whose salaries they are paying, are on strike

the fact that discipline is an issue in most classsrooms doesent concern parents as much,

the hse is in a mess, but money is not curing it. resources spent on education will have direct impact on childrens formative years

corcaighcailin9

Tom Dunne wrote: »

Make sure any strike is not about pay and conditions (which, correct me if I am wrong, it is not about).

This has absolutely nothing to do with pay and/or working conditions and if there is to be any industrial action, this needs to be stipulated from the off. I think that we'd have more parents with us than against us to be honest, I mean all we are trying to do is better the conditions for their children to learn. There will always be one or two ill-informed smart asses who won't be on our side but I wouldn't let that stop me standing up for something I believe in. Of course the issue of who'll mind the kids if we're striking will be a big one but we'll have to see how it all pans out.
If we were talking about walking out for better pay then I'd say we (rightly) haven't a hope of getting parental support but we're only doing this for the children of today and years to come.
So the PTR goes from 26:1 last year to 27:1 this year - what about next year, 28:1 maybe 29:1? It's totally unacceptable. And the way she hides behind the amount that's been put in to Special Ed. really makes my blood boil. The only reason special needs did so well is because people like Kathy Sinnot took the gvt all the way threough the courts in her quest to get a decent education for her son. And fair play to her, thousands more have benefitted thanks to her tireless work.
I think the reality is that we're never going to get anywhere through dialouge and the gvt is smug enough to think we'd never walk out because we never have before. I'd be all for giving them all a good wake up call in order to get only what was promised to us, as teachers, and the general public in pre-election promises.

Trotter

corcaighcailin9 wrote: »

pre-election promises.

Yes but FF broke pre election promises before.. and we voted them back in! (By we I mean as a nation.. I certainly didnt!!)

One bitten... still shy... bitten again... still complaining. Is that how the saying goes?

The shocking thing is that if we had a general election tomorrow, FF would still get into office!

They've broken promises on the education of the future of our country and thats unforgiveable.

Less money spent on tribunals.. less on extra management positions in the HSE, more on the children. How ideal that world would be.

corcaighcailin9

Yeah I agree we're a nation of fools for putting them back in office, but the alternative wasn't great. I think that at some stage, some group of people are gonna have to take a stand (why not teachers?) and when we do, we might just have the support of the rest of the country who are just as peeved as we are listening to the lies coming out of the tribunals on a regular basis.
At least that's what I'm hoping lol