Any Brits Striking or Rallying Today? (Nov 30th Public Sector Strike re: Pensions)

by mummatron 7 Replies latest jw friends

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  mummatron

  Although I'm a member of both the NASUWT & ATL unions, I technically can't strike as I don't have a job at present, and although I have been invited by both unions to join in the demonstrations, I won't be rallying/protesting either as I have my 2 small children to look after. However I am fully behind the strikes.

  Here's some info for those of you who aren't UK based and would like an overview of the situation...
  
  http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/nov/29/why-are-teachers-striking

  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/21/striking-teacher-30-november

  http://www.nasuwt.org.uk/IndustrialAction
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  cantleave

  I work in the private sector, I have a pension worth didly squat - why should I subsidise other people's pensions with my taxes?

  There was a time when the public sector earned less than the private sector, thta is no longer truw. They earn more, have better holiday entitlements and better pensions than the average private sector employee. I say to those on strike, "get back to your desks and and stop holding the country to ransom".
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  Mickey mouse

  Mummatron you have a PM.
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  lisaBObeesa

  100% support for the cause from this American!
• 

  wobble

  I do admit to a little sympathy with Cantleave's opinion, but I would point out that P.S workers contribute a large percentage of their wage toward their pension.

  (lets not get in to an argument about the details).

  What the strike is mainly about is the injustice of the Government changing the goal posts for those already in the scheme, for which they may have signed up years ago, now to be told they must pay more in , work more years before receiving it, and when they do get it, it will be less than it should be.

  I have no axe to grind on this, I worked in the private sector, and as a JW was not encouraged to think about providing for retirement, hence I now have trouble scraping together my beer money !
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  bigmac

  my wife has worked all her life--and paid well in excess of the required number of years contributions for her own full state pension. she should be retiring in 12 months time. but not anymore--she cant now get her pension--WHICH SHE HAS PAID FOR IN FULL ALREADY till shes 62 & a half. is this theft --or what?
• 

  mummatron

  I saw some Ambulance workers demonstrating by the side of North Rd (near their HQ) in Cardiff this afternoon but didn't notice anything anywhere else.

  What the strike is mainly about is the injustice of the Government changing the goal posts for those already in the scheme, for which they may have signed up years ago, now to be told they must pay more in , work more years before receiving it, and when they do get it, it will be less than it should be.

  Well put Wobble! The changing of the goal posts is why I was supporting the strike.

  Cantleave & Bigmac - I can sympathise with you both on this one. Despite most recently having worked in education, the only paid work I've done has all been through an agency so I'm technically not public sector and I don't have a public sector pension either. Prior to that I worked in private sector companies where I took out a private pension through the scheme available at one company where I worked. Anyways, 4 years ago, the company I was working at went under and I was made redundant. It then emerged (realised from our annual statements) that during the 7 months leading up to administration, all employees with company pensions had been robbed of 7 months worth of pension payments and the associated tax relief by this company as they hadn't been making the arranged payments and had embezzled the funds instead, even though it showed up on our payslips! It took almost 2 years for that money to be recouped through the administration process but by then our pensions had already lost value due to the recession and we weren't compensated for loss of interest. I have a way to go before I retire but my finances are already looking awful. And I thought I was being sensible by taking out a pension.

  MickeyMouse, I shall reply in a few moments...

  lisaBObeesa - thank you.
• 

  Caedes

  I have a public sector pension that I paid into whilst working as a civil servant, I now work in the private sector and have a pension with my current employer as well.

  One of the reasons I took a civil service job was because the poor wages and low chance of promotion or wage progression were compensated by a good pension and reasonable job security. I could have earnt significantly more in the private sector, in fact I gave up a better paying job because I thought the benefits outweighed the lower wages. It is important to note that a final salary civil service pension is not that great for the majority of civil servants who are on quite low wages.

  When I joined the civil service I signed a contract and the pension benefits were part of that, why should you not be able to say I want what was agreed in my contract. let's face it if I were a private contractor and and signed a contract nobody would argue that provided I did the job that was asked I should get paid what was in the contract.