general strike

** EDITED - Previsously banned user **

I am a travelling story Teller and work in the UK, Spain, Australia and my next visit is Canada.  If I do not work I starve. I am getting fewer bookings now because of the recession and HAVE to work for less or starve. Simple as that.  I am lucky and can still hide in Tenerife and nobody can find me. It´s great. But the recession is hitting here to but we are a bit sheltered because of the sunshine.

ROLL ON THE REVOLUTION

Listen workers! If you cannot stand the heat get somebody else to keep you. I am starving too.

 Can anyone tell me if the flights into MAJORCA will still be operating this thursday as a group of us have flights booked to land there on thurs am for a four day golf break. We really do not want to be left stranded at the airport for the whole day and wondered if the bags , customs etc  will still be operating albeit on a skeleton staff rota. anxiously awaiting a reply from anyone in the know.!!

Westport- whilst I mainly agree with your sentiments, especially as you loose pay when someone else strikes- it is their right and they have paid into something expecting a certain pension. Can I just add that whilst it appears to us normal mortals that teachers only work 189 odd days a year most work numerous evenings - on  parents evening, open evenings and just showing new people about their schools evenings, Summer and Christmas fayres and plays, plus residential trips. They also work endlessly on marking and planning and I know no-one ever wants to hear this but in general they work hard in much of their own time. Many are on annual contracts at the whim of Local Authority funding.

Many Colleges observe the same annual leave restriction as other organisations and so staff are in throughout all the holidays unless they use their annual leave quota. They also have to deal with the youth of the nation- I rest my case!.

My ex partner taught A Levels part time at a College and then moved to a comprehensive's 6th form and I genuinely thought 'I don't want that job'. Planning , marking, dealing with the confrontational and difficult youth of today and being required for evening after evening and loosing weekends to marking work (all of which is standardised so they can't fluke it).

In the School the holidays at least made up for having to do evenings, fete's, residentials and all the lost weekends and all for an annual contract. Some are on termly contracts. Then there's Ofsted.

It's only those who have worked full time under these restriction for many many years that are due these 'big' pensions and thats not everyone by any means..

(Can I add that Colleges seem to expect even more 'unpaid' hours- there's no flexi time for evenings and covering for absent staff can't go on your teaching quota until the they are absent for at least 3 days)

So sorry if I sound sympathetic but I saw it all first hand.

 odd i thought this thread was supposed to be about the coming strike in spain??

Westport your rant about teachers is ill informed & insulting.

I agree with everything that TheQuietMan says. Work 189 days per year??? - Dream on.

If not working at home, many go into school in the holidays to prepare lessons & to catch up on things that don't get done because in the few "free"periods that they are supposed to have, they are given cover to do, even though they shouldn't be.

What about the revision sessions they run over a series of weekends in the run up to exams?

Residential trips? - I guess Westport would consider that a "jolly" but they are on call 24/7 for however long they are away.

The pressure they are put under when OfSted announce their arrival is ludicrous - leave school at 6pm then 5 hours to plan the OfSted lesson, then back in to school at 6am the next morning - work/life balance - not in education. Then OfSted want to see something different so another 5 hours to plan the lesson.

Am I a teacher? No but my sister is a Secondary School Maths teacher so I see first hand that she puts in far more than a 35-40 hour week. I would say it is more like 50 hours & that is just a normal week without parents evening or any other out of hours event where there is a 3 line whip for attendance.

 regarding the strike effecting flights......

I called Ryan air to ask of the risk of disruption on Thursday.....the answer was,we can change your flight free of charge......

I guess that speaks volumes.........expect massive delays and disruption across the board!

Sorry that I earlier took the posts off thread topic- just felt a bit miffed. Though I do understand when you loose money due to someone elses action its very difficult.

Regards the general strike- we were considering a brief  visit to Spain next Monday, planned a very late booking for flights. As this is a frivilous mini break visit I can be disappointed but it wont affect my income if Thursdays strikes have knock on repercussions all weekend.

I expect people feel they just have to do something to make their feelings heard.

 Here is an item re the expensive tastes of the Union leaders who are leading this country to a disastrous general strike to-morrow.

Read and weep for Spain,  greedy banksters on one side and greedy leaders on the other.

If your Spanish is not up to this put it thro' a good translator,   it's worth it.

In summary it says that these 2 so-called socialists have very expensive tastes,  a collection of expensive watches and, if the strike is looking good,  they'll be heading for one of the most expensive restaurants in Madrid where they are regulars.

How can they sleep at night?

How do I add the url that was to be read in my last post?

I've added it below in the video box

 Now here's a strike that may give some results:

Madrid Strike

** EDITED - Spam **

 Pity you couldn't spell Olympic!

 just as well they aint a teacher then