In the UK, teachers are walking out over pensions. I’m just sayin’.
June 27, 2011
I’m just sayin’ is all.
Two of the countries biggest teaching unions announced the results of a strike ballot, which will lead to the first teachers’ walkout in three decades.
Hundreds of thousands of members will stage walkouts across the summer and will throw schools into chaos.
Both the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), and the National Union of Teachers (NUT), asked nearly 300,000 members if they wanted to take action, which thousands did.
Government officials now fear any proposed action could cause schools to send classes home or close altogether leading to fears children will be turned away after the forthcoming break.
The ATL, seen as the most moderate teaching union which represents 160,000 school and college staff, voted “overwhelmingly” to strike.The union, which has never taken national strike action before in its 127-year history, said that 78,342 members were eligible to vote in the ballot.
Of the 27,563 who voted (35 per cent), 83 per cent – 22,840 – voted to strike and 4,653 voted against.
Officials said that of teachers and lecturers working in state-funded schools and colleges, 62,369 were balloted.
More than a third (36 per cent or 22,230) voted and of those 18,396 (83 per cent) voted to strike, and 3,785 voted against.
Almost 16,000 teachers and lecturers working in independent schools and colleges were balloted. A third (5,333) voted and of those 4,444 (83 per cent) voted to strike, 868 voted against.
Results from the NUT’s ballot show that 92 per cent were in favour of strike action.
Turnout was 40 per cent among state school members of the union and 27 per cent among private school members.
The NUT’s executive will meet on Wednesday to discuss the results. The final decision on whether the union will stage a walkout rests with the executive.
“This is a warning shot across the bows to the government,” said Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of ATL.
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Out here such an action would be called Klonskyesque. WHat a bunch of moleholes they must be in the UK.
It’s Klonsky like, certainly. Klonsky-ish, perhaps. But Klonskyesque sounds like something the average reform-minded reformatrix reblab-a-blab might cough up like a lead nickle. Molehole, too. I’m just saying. I’m pissed about the Blago thing this morning, and my morning prayer is that this poor, persecuted man never sees a day in jail for this travesty of justice, and sublimely political waste of the taxpayers money. And Eric Zorn is the snot on the Tribune snotrag.