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Iindependent Reader responses to unions Warning about possible teachers strike Said the crisis occurred School It goes far beyond a single pay award and points to workloads, underfunding and systems stretched to their limits.
Many commentators argued that the overall pay increase masks the reality of falling real earnings, deteriorating pensions and unpaid overtime, teacher During term time and most holidays, the typical working week is 50 to 60 hours.
They described excessive paperwork, outdated IT and a lack of SEND support as key factors contributing to burnout, saying staff were being asked to shore up failing systems with their own time and money.
Cost and fairness dominate the debate. Some readers backed strike action as inevitable after years of erosion of wages and working conditions, warning School Facing a growing recruitment and retention crisis teacher Go to work in the private sector or overseas.
Others are more skeptical, arguing that strike The risk is heightened inflation and the real issue is productivity, not wage demands.
Overall, the reader paints a picture of a career under relentless pressure. While our community is divided on solutions, they largely agree that chronic underinvestment has pushed schools and staff close to the edge.
This is what you have to say:
Teachers work more than 50 hours a week
Teachers’ salary increases will be 5.5% in 2024 and 4% in 2025, which is lower than private sector salary increases. Given that teaching contracts stipulate that teachers must work overtime when necessary to meet professional standards of work, most teachers work more than 50 hours a week during term time and a few hours a week during holidays.
I used to be a math teacher. I worked more than 60 hours a week during the semester. I spent a lot of time marking papers during the holidays (our department scheduled it a week before each holiday) and preparing for the next semester’s courses.
The amount of paperwork required was ridiculous and there was a lack of resources available – I used to subsidize schools by buying resources for my courses so they had variety in their courses. There are very few resources available for SEND and lower ability classes.
As a teacher for 17 years, observing many areas of different NHS organizations from the perspective of patients, partners and parents of patients, and as a local councilor having many meetings with local NHS officials, I have many ideas for improving efficiency and effectiveness. educate and health services. But all of these require significant initial investments to add frontline staff, provide more training, completely upgrade IT systems and provide more practical resources.
Front-line personnel in most industries are so dispersed and IT systems and equipment are so old that it is impossible for employees to complete their jobs efficiently or effectively. Most local authority services are so under-resourced that situations can only be dealt with once emergency levels are reached, when the cost and time to deal with is much higher – fighting fires and rebuilding are far more expensive than preventive measures to stop the spread of fires.
Cost-cutting from the eras of Thatcher and Cameron et al. means that investment in infrastructure, training and staff has not yet been put in place to enable a proactive approach to improving public health, local services and health services. educate. As a result, everyone’s remit is narrowed to meet easily quantifiable goals, but the truly important work that will make a difference and help things run smoothly is missed.
Maybe everyone should go on strike?
Maybe everyone should go on strike, get a raise, experience the resulting inflation, and then move on?
No economic principle dictates that wages must rise with the cost of living, and historically they have tended not to. The fact is that real purchasing power hasn’t increased in decades, and that won’t change until our productivity improves significantly.
Recruitment crisis is coming
I commented around 2018 that teachers talked about leaving the profession, but few actually did.
Since the pandemic, teaching has become more difficult and wages and pensions have worsened. If the private sector starts to recover and hire again, I expect schools will face difficult times.
Either everyone can strike, or no one
The right to strike should be extended to every worker – or abolished.
Most professions have no union representation, cannot strike, and must work hard to get a raise. Others simply push a magic button and increase automatically. Either everyone can do it, or no one can.
Teachers are going abroad to work
I never understood why teachers agreed to do so much unpaid overtime. They face abuse all day, then go home and spend their evenings grading homework, planning lessons and answering parent questions. I’m surprised there are any left.
Some countries understand the link between economic performance and education. We’re just interested in lowering taxes. Schools face a recruitment crisis due to poor working conditions and poor wages. Many who stay are simply building their resumes in order to find better jobs abroad.
Replace teachers with artificial intelligence
After securing an above-average pay deal from the Conservatives, they secured a huge pay deal from Labour. It’s time we studied artificial intelligence in our classrooms. No more teachers, but better-paid teaching assistants working alongside artificial intelligence. Other countries have already started down this path, and it’s time for us to follow suit.
Some comments in this article have been edited for brevity and clarity.
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