Teachers to Strike over Pensions?????

[yoyo123]

The average teachers salary is higher than the national average wage so I'm not sure they are underpaid.

bear in mind that teachers in state sector have to have QTS plus a degree, so four years minimum training...not saying we are underpaid at all, but national average wage is for all wage earners not just graduate workers

[succeed]

The national average earnings in this country are 25,543 per annum based on 2010 figures. A teachers starting salary is 21,000 and would take 4/5 years to reach the national average.
Bearing in mind teachers are very well qualified and have to demonstrate high skills in managing 30 pupils at a time , with a variety of learning needs/personality 'quirks',i think it is at least fair to say they are not remunerated in line with others working in other fields demonstrating comparable skills or qualifications.

With regard to comments about 'everyone else' having to 'put up' with - no, you don't.Fight back.Or else , if you think you can hack it, train to be a teacher, do your bit, and come and 'sort out' state schools, whilst enjoying the extravagant 'perks' , over inflated salary, and wildly excessive pension at the end of it.

[Waiting_For_Godot]

After six years of study and paying higher tuition fees (Scottish system) my sister will start of her career as a Doctor on £18,000 for the first three years. It even states on the TDA website that the starting salary of a teacher compares favourably with other graduates.

I'm not saying that teachers don't work hard, of course they do, but on the whole, most employees work just as hard and as many hours as teachers do. There are very few professions nowadays where work is not taken home or where it does not encroach into weekends.

Exactly where is all this money going to come from to sustain these pensions?

[succeed]

Doctors may start their careers slightly poorer, but they certainly end up with the last laugh, earning more than twice, sometimes three times, as much as teachers. My son's friends dad is a doctor (gp, not a surgeon) and earns 70,000 working 3 days a week. He says it's not 'really worth' working full time as he enjoys a good work life balance now and can spend time with his kids etc...
(Don't get me wrong , I don't begrudge doctors their good fortune and would much rather it went to them than anyone else, as I recognise the valuable job they do).

Teachers pensions were altered 4 years ago, increasing the retirement age etc to ensure their sustainability. 'Sustainability' is not the reason why pensions are being reformed,even Hutton himself did not argue that teachers pensions were unsustainable at current levels.Remember, teacher's contributions go directly to the taxman and are spent on paying out state pensions for those entitled today, not in 30 years time. Ironically, it is due largely to the greed and neglect of the private sector in offering fair and decent pension schemes to its workers(not withstanding bankers etc) in the past, which is causing a drain our public finances today, as benefits are needed to 'top up' a very basic living standard. The strike should not polarise the private and public sector, who when all said and done at the end of the day, are all going to be left with pretty lousy pensions.We are all being fleeced in order to sustain the wealth of the wealthiest. Instead, it should strengthen the private workers resolve to work with us to oust this inherently immoral coalition, which most people did not vote for. If I was a private sector worker, i would be very pleased that there was a battle going on and life was being made difficult for this government, and would relish the opportunity to join in.

[Fran17]

In relation to the importance of the job teachers do, I think they are underpaid. We expect so much from them, and it is my belief that in order to attract the best young talent into the profession their pay needs to be addressed.

It's true my pension is being affected but that doesn't mean I am happy for everyone elses to be. If someone can make a stand in the hope of changing things without causing too much disruption, I can't bring myself to be disgruntled about it.

With regard to earlier comments comparing the starting wage of doctors and teachers, doctors wouldn't be doctors without good teachers.

[Rob Clark]

I think the Unions have picked the wrong battle to be honest. If teachers were to strike about their pay, conditions, workload or endless government tinkering with education policy, I’d be much more supportive.

But pensions and retirement age? No, sorry. Everyone’s pensions have gone to pot because we have an ageing population which we can’t afford, and everyone is having to work until they’re older as a consequence of the country being broke. Teachers aren’t being singled out here, it’s the same for all of us.

[Sportsmum]

Whilst I don't agree with strikes - nor do I agree that a teacher friend of mine should lose £140,000 from her pension pot.

[succeed]

[quote="Rob Clark"]I think the Unions have picked the wrong battle to be honest. If teachers were to strike about their pay, conditions, workload or endless government tinkering with education policy, I’d be much more supportive.

I'm heartened to see you would have support for teachers if they were striking over 'pay and conditions'They are , in reality. The proposed changes to pensions are compulsory and will have a direct significant effect on pay, if implemented. Our salaries will be significantly reduced to allow for these extra compulsory contributions. The pension is intrinsically linked to pay and conditions both in the immediate and long term. As some posters have previously said, they have been willing to tolerate a relatively poor salary in exchange for a decent (though not excessive) pension at the end of it.

Many people seem to have their own subjective criteria on when they would be willing to support a teacher's strike , with the goalposts changing at every turn. For example, if we were to strike over academies, the public would, no doubt, be divided over that as well, because in reality they actually know very little about it. The bottom line is, you either support teachers or you don't.

[R3ad1ngDad]

I have a friend who is just leaving the army. He told me a story about army pensions.

A few years ago they were all offered the chance to change their pension schemes - they could stay in the old system (which he did) or you could change to a different scheme which had allowed a younger retirement age with the same payout but was much less generous if you didn't complete enough service (his neighbour took up this option as he intended to serve a full term that would take him past the minimum service requirement).

His neighbour has just been forcibly retired (admin discharge) 6 months prior to reaching the minimum service period and that has made a difference of £120k to his pension pot. he is convinved pension scheme choice was used a redundancy criteria.

It is not just teachers getting hit and whilst I understand everyone wants what is best for themselves - they have to understand that somebody has to pay for the countries credit card bill and this year it is the public sector workers - I personally have had no payrise in 4 years, receive NO pension contribution from my employer and have had my holiday drop from 28 to 25 days per year (1 of which will have to be used on the strike day as my wife has none spare) but at least I still have a job. The alternative to lower public sector cost per employee is lower public sector employment.

[succeed]

Army pensions are already remarkably generous, and the government is going to great lengths to ensure this remains the case.

i am sure that , should the govt propose to increase teachers' salaries in line with their skills / qualifications, the pension reforms would not be such an insult.