Strikes

[~ True Legend ~]

Due to how long the kids would end up spending back at school between them going back after Easter and finishing again. After all the weekends, teacher's strikes and also bank holidays that we have between now and then, it is leaving them with less time than they normally would have in that time.

I mean, you still learn something in a day ?

 

[Shortie]

I mean, you still learn something in a day ?

That is very true, I have however learned that schools now especially in years 10 and 11 have strict deadlines for coursework for GCSE and with them missing time due to all these strikes and the bank holiday it is meaning that they are more likely to miss the deadlines to hand in their coursework.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

That is very true, I have however learned that schools now especially in years 10 and 11 have strict deadlines for coursework for GCSE and with them missing time due to all these strikes and the bank holiday it is meaning that they are more likely to miss the deadlines to hand in their coursework.

Oh gosh, that's not even something I considered, so thanks for sharing that perspective!
It makes sense as post takes a while to be delivered.
Are schools open though? That way students can at least hand it in into some kind of a "pigeon hole". We used to have pigeon halls for work to be handed into when we did not have a lesson that day.

 

[Shortie]

Oh gosh, that's not even something I considered, so thanks for sharing that perspective!
It makes sense as post takes a while to be delivered.
Are schools open though? That way students can at least hand it in into some kind of a "pigeon hole". We used to have pigeon halls for work to be handed into when we did not have a lesson that day.

Luckily my son's teacher is not part of the teachers union that is striking so he has said he will be in school and it is compulsory for him to be in school for the strike tomorrow to complete the course work. He may only be there for a few hours if that but at least he will get it done so that is a relief.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

Luckily my son's teacher is not part of the teachers union that is striking so he has said he will be in school and it is compulsory for him to be in school for the strike tomorrow to complete the course work. He may only be there for a few hours if that but at least he will get it done so that is a relief.

Glad to hear it That way no dealing with a shorter deadline

 

[~ True Legend ~]

Rail workers are to strike next month after the RMT union rejected the latest pay deal from train operators.

Rail strike on 13 May, day of Eurovision final

The RMT is to strike after talks in long-running pay dispute break down again.

www.bbc.co.uk

5% pay offer rejected. Sure it's not ideal, but a union not putting the pay offer to its members? That's bad.

Mick Lynch, RMT general secretary, said the (RDG), which represents the train companies, had "reneged on their original proposals and torpedoed these negotiations".

But Steve Montgomery, chair of the RDG Group said the union was "negotiating in bad faith, again denying their members a say on a fair pay deal, needlessly disrupting the lives of millions of our passengers, and undermining the viability of an industry critical to Britain's economy".

Workers at 14 train operators will now go on strike for 24 hours on 13 May.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

Nurses belonging to RCN union will be striking again on the May bank holiday. The RCN refused the pay offer while Unison has accepted it. The vote on the pay deal is being put forward to other unions.

RCN nurses to strike on May bank holiday in England as pay offer rejected

A 48-hour walkout from 30 April will include nurses in A&E, intensive care and cancer wards in England.

www.bbc.co.uk

UPDATE:-

A 48-hour strike by nurses in England over the Bank Holiday weekend will be cut short by a day after a High Court judge ruled it was partly unlawful.

Nurses' strike in England to be cut short after court ruling

The government took the nurses' union to court in a bitter dispute over whether the strike was lawful.

www.bbc.co.uk

The judge ruled the RCN's six-month mandate for strike action would have lapsed by Tuesday.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay took legal action after NHS Employers said the last day of the planned strike was not covered by the mandate as the ballots closed on 2 November at midday.

Mr Barclay said: "I firmly support the right to take industrial action within the law - but the government could not stand by and let plainly unlawful strike action go ahead.

"Both the NHS and my team tried to resolve this without resorting to legal action."

 

[~ True Legend ~]

Teachers in four unions in England say they will team up on any strike action over pay - which could mean full school closures in the autumn term.

Teacher strikes: Unions team up in England pay dispute

There could be further full school closures in England if members of more unions vote to strike.

www.bbc.co.uk

Only the National Education Union (NEU) has enough backing from members to organise walkouts at present. The next strike will be on Tuesday.

But the three other unions, including two for head teachers, are asking their members whether they want to strike.

The government said co-ordinated action would be "unreasonable".

More than half of England's 22,000 schools either closed or partially closed on NEU strike days in February and March.

If members from several unions, including head teachers, were to walk out together, it is likely there would be more full school closures.

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "For unions to co-ordinate strike action with the aim of causing maximum disruption to schools is unreasonable and disproportionate, especially given the impact the pandemic has already had on their learning."

Katie Chilvers, a Year one teacher in Birmingham, supports the NEU strike action and has walked out this year.


But she did not take part in the latest strike on Thursday because she could not "justify" losing another day's pay.

"We're looking at around £80 a day that we'd lose out on, on average," she said.

She said she was finding other ways to support the cause, such as "spreading the word" on social media.

The NEU says members can apply to access hardship funds.

Most state school teachers in England had a 5% rise in 2022, and a 3% rise was recommended from September 2023.

But the unions want above-inflation increases, and extra money to ensure any pay rises do not come from schools' existing budgets.

After the February strikes, the government made a new pay offer for school teachers, which included a £1,000 one-off payment this year and a 4.3% pay rise for most staff in September.

The starting salary for teachers in England is also due to rise to £30,000 a year by September - a previous government commitment.

The Department for Education described it as a "fair and reasonable offer" and said that schools would receive an extra £2.3bn over the next two years.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said in December that the increased funding would mean that school spending per pupil "will grow in real terms through to 2024 and will return to at least 2010 levels".

All four unions rejected the offer. They said it was still not fully funded, meaning schools would have had to make cuts elsewhere to afford it.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the offer was no longer on the table, so the decision on pay would now be made by the independent pay review body.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

The 5% pay deal offered to NHS staff in England is expected to be introduced after a key union backed the offer.

NHS 5% pay rise heading for majority union backing

The latest yes vote, by the GMB union, is "almost certain" to mean pay deal in England gets agreed.

www.bbc.co.uk

The GMB union, which represents ambulance workers and other staff, announced its members were in favour.

This means it is now highly likely a majority of the 14 NHS unions will give the deal their backing when they meet ministers next week.

But both the Royal College of Nursing and Unite strikes would continue as their members have rejected the deal.

This deal does not directly affect the dispute with junior doctors - they are on a different contract.

But it certainly puts pressure on the British Medical Association if many lower paid NHS staff are willing to accept a pay that gets nowhere near its 35% pay claim.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

Nurses in England are taking strike action in half of England's hospitals, mental health and community services.

Nurses out on strike in half of England’s NHS

NHS England warns that staffing levels in some parts of the country will be "exceptionally low".

www.bbc.co.uk

The walkout lasts until midnight on Monday with NHS bosses warning services would be badly disrupted.

It is the first time Royal College of Nursing members have walked out of all areas, including intensive care.

The RCN said it had agreed some last-minute exemptions so nurses could be pulled off the picket line to ensure life-preserving care was provided.

But NHS England warned patients to expect "disruptions and delays to services over the strike period".

It said that staffing levels for some areas would be "exceptionally low, lower than on previous strike days".

The NHS is advising people who are seriously ill or injured to call 999 as usual, but non-urgent cases should call 111.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

More than a million NHS staff in England are to receive a 5% pay rise, after health unions backed the deal.

NHS pay deal signed off for one million staff

Ministers agree to pay a 5% rise in England - but nurses are still threatening strike action.

www.bbc.com

Staff including ambulance workers, nurses, physios and porters will also get a one-off sum of at least £1,655.

The pay deal was signed off at a meeting between the government and 14 health unions representing all NHS staff apart from doctors and dentists.

Ministers said it was time to bring the strikes to an end - but three unions are threatening to continue action.

However, only one - Unite - currently has a strike mandate and that is for local strikes in some ambulance services and a few hospitals.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

A strike by train drivers caused disruption for rail passengers on Friday and services are set to be affected across the weekend.

Train strikes: Rail drivers walk out ahead of Eurovision final

The train drivers' union leader insists Eurovision events in Liverpool were not targeted by strikes.

www.bbc.co.uk

This is BS

Members of the Aslef train drivers' union walked out from 16 companies, with some running no services at all.

These included TransPennine, Northern, Avanti, Thameslink and Southern.

On Saturday - the day of the Eurovision final in Liverpool - the RMT union is taking separate strike action, which will affect 14 rail operators.

As well as Friday's walkout, Aslef is also striking on Wednesday 31 May and Saturday 3 June - the day of the FA Cup final.
Aslef insisted that Friday's strike was not scheduled to affect travel to the Eurovision final.

But both Aslef and the RMT have been accused by Transport Secretary Mark Harper of targeting the contest.

Selfish! Train drivers are on a £60k salary anyways!

Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan told the BBC that if the union had deliberately targeted the Eurovision final, it would have taken action on the "Friday, Saturday and the Sunday" instead.

Mr Whelan added: "We don't want to hurt anybody, but there is no good day for a strike. If you pick any one day in any given week you'll hit some event."

How awful! She should have checked though?lol

The first that Monika, a 26-year-old librarian from Whitstable, knew about the strikes was when she turned up at the railway station on Friday morning.

She told the BBC she had a flight booked from Stansted to Warsaw for an important family gathering, but when she tried to get a taxi to the airport, they were all busy.

She then travelled to Canterbury, thinking it would be easier to get a cab, but by the time she got there she had missed her flight.
Monika booked another flight from Heathrow, but then had to get a taxi there. All in, with cab fares and plane tickets, Monika paid out nearly £600 - wiping out most of her savings and forcing her to borrow from her parents.

"It is a lot for me," she said. "I work in a library so I'm on a low income."

Monika said she felt "really frustrated" by the situation. But she added that she feels sympathy for the striking train workers and is "100% behind" them.

Rail passengers are facing further disruption this weekend as members of the RMT union walk out on strike.

Train strikes: RMT industrial action coincides with Eurovision final

RMT union members from 14 rail companies are walking out on Saturday in a long-running pay row.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[~ True Legend ~]

Junior doctors in England have announced a new 72-hour walkout in June after the latest round of government pay talks broke down.

Junior doctors in England to strike for three days in June

They will walk out between 07:00 on Wednesday 14 June and 07:00 on Saturday 17 June.

www.bbc.co.uk

They've been offered a 5% rise in addition to a one-off payment whereas they want a 35% rise as their pay in real terms has fallen by 26%.