‘Teacher strikes are disruptive?’ Maybe you don’t go away during term time.’ | British News
What is the difference between a teachers’ strike and a holiday with the children during school hours?
According to father Wesley Joyce, nothing – and they should be fined like him.
Do you think he’s right? Or does someone who can afford to spend £7,000 on a holiday have the right to lecture striking teachers for better pay?
let us know what you think
‘Teachers are already being punished!’ They are not paid to strike.’
So father-of-three and two step-children, Wesley Joyce can afford £5,000 to take them on holiday with them but is shying away from paying the £360 he was charged to do while he was at school ( Metro, Tue).
The builder says the same ten-day holiday in Turkey would have cost £12,000 if it had taken place over the summer break.
He also suggests that teachers should also be penalized for exercising their right to strike. They are. Doesn’t he know that they don’t get paid during the strike?
He also says that teachers need to know what the pay and conditions are like before they start their careers.
That was the case 15 years ago, but thanks to austerity measures and the current government, the value of their wages and working conditions has fallen significantly.
And if teachers voted with their feet and left the profession, or current graduates didn’t join at all, who would be teaching Mr. Joyce’s children?
Natalie Pemberton, Leeds.
What do you say about people in glass houses?
Mr Joyce suggests teachers take a new job. But surely he knows the terms and conditions of his own job. So I suggest he finds a job that pays enough to allow him to take family vacations outside of term time.
TThe fact is that for every day of strike the teachers lose one day’s earnings and they lost more salary than the value of the fines he received.
Teachers have been offered a pay rise but continue to strike because the government is failing to provide funds to schools to meet increased wage bills.
They have decided to continue sacrificing their own wages to demand support for the country’s children so that schools have supplies, equipment and teaching support. They’re tired of having to do more with less.
And as for teachers who find employment elsewhere, unfortunately many are already leaving in large numbers to work where their worth is taken seriously and they hope to preserve work-life balance. Sarah (married to a teacher), Manchester
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Are parents like these a reason why teachers go on strike?
It is ironic to me that Mr. Joyce fails to see the lack of logic in his own reasoning.
He wants his children out of school to keep his vacation costs down, but is upset when teachers go on strike – in a bid to achieve sustainable salaries – because it affects his children’s education.
It seems futile to inculcate this in someone with such views, but perhaps spending a few days in the classroom would do Mr Joyce some good – although his ability to subtract £7,000 from £12,000 was extremely impressive. Well done, Mr. Joyce’s math teacher! Jonathan, Manchester
Anyone who can afford a holiday worth £7,000 can easily afford a £360 fine. No wonder teachers go on strike when they have to put up with such parents. Brenda McPherson, Horncastle
Mr Joyce should do his homework on why teachers are on strike before making his ill-informed comments. Zero out of ten for recruitment, Mr. Joyce! J McGee, Worcester
Wesley Joyce perfectly illustrates a major problem in today’s society – selfish individualism. How dare teachers fight for better pay and conditions when it’s affecting his £7,000 family leave! The Doc, Epsom.
If Wesley Joyce can only afford to take his family to Turkey during the semester, maybe he should be the one to take a new job instead of beating up underpaid, overworked teachers. Rob, via text message
And here’s what else is discussed on Metro’s letters page:
In all his 200+ word rants about the failures of Labor governments (past and future), David Lindsay (MetroTalk, Tues) fails to explain why the Conservative government has failed in its 13 years in office to do what it claims is terrible mistakes were made to rectify, or that the UK is in a worse situation in virtually every way than it was in 2010. Martin,London
I voted for all major parties, so I have no allegiance. The current Conservative Party has completely messed up the country, with ridiculously high interest rates and a national debt rising every day.
This country doesn’t work, there are strikes after strikes. Our only hope now is a change of government and a realignment of the political agenda. I believe Sir Keir Starmer’s Labor Party has a very different and entirely logical agenda. Let’s take the Non-Doms Tax as an example. Why should the rich be allowed to live in the UK and not pay taxes when the country is broke?
In the event of an election, this Labor Party change of non-dom status would earn the Treasury billions to help reduce the national debt.
The counterargument is that these wealthy people would leave! Well, given that other countries generally don’t offer this tax benefit, where would they go? Brendan, via email
I currently see no difference between the two major parties.
Labor have no innovative policies or ideas to improve things, they just want to repeat quotes and catchphrases that they think Central England wants to hear.
Paul, Croydon
Is it time for society to digitally detox? We can make it happen
Jeanie (MetroTalk, Mo) wrote about her experience at a restaurant where she and her boyfriend were given a QR code as a menu and told they could only order online. Well, it’s about time that we, the folks (who make up the majority), start acting. Jeanie and her boyfriend should have just left the restaurant.
Even if you are told cash is not accepted, just walk away and go somewhere else. If you’re at a restaurant and have already eaten and don’t want cash, say “thanks for the free meal” and see what they say.
Cash is legal tender, if they don’t accept it they don’t want to be paid. As restaurants become empty, they will abandon QR codes, stop serving guests, and stop accepting cash.
Carla, London
MORE: Dad fines teachers over strikes after being slammed for taking kids on holiday
MORE: Labor would give new teachers £2,400 to stop them quitting
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