Coronavirus

[jackd]

1/ There is no such thing as safe. Bugs are an occupational hazard in schools.

2/ The case for closure was borderline. Teachers “ self isolating “ and unions forced the closures due to too low staffing. They should still have kept the schools open. Others could have come in in absentia.

3/ doing half a job from home is stuffing all others who want to work, but teachers deciding parents have to look after there own kids. Selfish is the word. At what point did you consider others who want to go into work?

4/ If you all stood up to your unions , you would be back in work already. They are a convenient excuse. My parents were teachers . NAS and NUT were lefty troublemakers back then. Hated by most teachers, but too few were willing to stand up to them.

Schools have form.

I refer to the icy period several years ago.
Schools (and all those who get paid regardless) decided it was too dangerous to go into school.

All those who have to go into work to get paid, made it. All those who had to make it to my house had no problem doing it. But it was too dangerous for teachers.

Seriously.
With the attitude problem in the public sector of schools, transport workers, local authorities we would have lost the war.

I don’t know many private sector workers who invest in cayman either. Total red herring. Average teacher retirement age is still 60. Unaffordable.

All I am arguing for is parity.

I’ll reply in kind if you don’t mind.

1 – Of course, but not all bugs put you, or a vulnerable member of your family, in an icu on a ventilator.

2- The case for closure was put by the scientists advising the government, not the unions.

3 -Teachers did not decide ‘parents have to look after their own kids’. See No 2 above – the government closed the schools and told people to stay at home. I’d rather be back at work, but that doesn’t fit with what you like to believe. Why have you raised my ‘consideration of others who want to go into work’. I show consideration for others daily in my work and through my outlook on life. You seem to be suggesting I have no consideration for others "selfish is the word". Here's another two: Ad Hominem.

4 – I will continue to take advice from my union, who also want as quick a return to work as I do, when the scientific advice says it is the right time to do so. In fact, we are preparing for a phased return as are many colleagues in other schools. ‘lefty trouble makers’ – really?

Snow and ice? Your anecdote says nothing about the issue and the reasons for closing in such circumstances. Heads & l.e.a’s decide when to close and it’s out of fear of being sued if a kid slips and breaks something. We don’t choose to stay off – we are required to go in if possible, and it often is, even if the kids are off.

Public sector attitudes losing us the war? Do you need a good lie down? That would make Johnson our Churchill. You’re right, we’d have no chance.

As for my aside about the Cayman Islands, you fail to address my point about how the public sector contribute to the economy and its not a case of private = good / public = bad.

As I posted earlier, a modern diverse economy cannot function without either, and both contribute to the economy. Indeed, the private sector regulary benefits from the largesse of the government in terms of grants, research funding, lobbying, contracts etc not to mention infrastructure, the legislation that benefits them and having a healthy educated workforce available. Whom, incidentally some choose to pay a minimum wage to thanks to the government subsidising the payroll bill through the use of universal credit.

Which brings me back to the point of me getting involved in this thread. You seem to repeatedly suggest that the public sector contribute nothing and that the private sector is footing the bill. Indeed that the public sector are the problem in some way.

Again, I repeat - It’s the government who are funding the support for businesses. The government who are paying furloughed workers. When the time to comes to repay it all, the public sector will no doubt be doing their bit through another round of austerity. Although this time it will be at the hands of some of the politicians who helped pen that rather frightening polemic ‘Britannia Unchained’. It’ll be austerity on steroids, but without the fun factor.

Finally, teachers’ pensions. You have presented another fallacious argument. We were told about the unaffordability 10 years ago (and that’s debatable). That’s why they were reformed. We now pay more in, get less out and those who are on the new scheme will be going at 65 at the moment.

One thing we can agree on. The sooner we are all back at work the better.

Anyway, I’ve logged off for the day and It’s brightened up. I’m off up the Whinlatter fells for an hour or two. I’ll have to start posting in the daily exercise thread next.