Jason RoweSep 3, 2023
King Mob

My partner - who is a teacher - went back to work after the summer holiday.

Their management team told them at a staff meeting that they were providing free school meals for TEACHERS suffering hardship. And a hardship fund for TEACHERS who don't earn enough money to survive.

My partner thought it was a decent thing to do. It just made me angry.

There is something beyond wrong when professional workers like teachers are unable to survive on their salaries. The answer isn't papering over the cracks and pretending this is a normal state of affairs. It's happening to so many workers, not just teachers.

Something's got to give. It will.

#uk #ukpolitics #ukschools #teachers #schools #hardship

Sep 2, 2023 at 4:55pmWeb
Show threadAviva GarySep 2, 2023
@King_Mob Interesting
Show threadAlex 🇵🇸Sep 2, 2023
@King_Mob You missed the #ToriesOut
A x
Show threadcassius1213Sep 2, 2023

@King_Mob

The answer's simple the world over: confiscatory tax rates on high incomes.

Additionally, I'm increasingly in favor of further income surtaxes on non-socially useful professions—ie, investment bankers, fund managers, app developers, etc.

Show threadKurtis M.Sep 3, 2023

@King_Mob I left teaching high school (secondary) this year after 8 years, and the pitiful salary (among other things) was the top reason. Some clues:
-the district-suggested insurance was 1/3 of my paycheck (hooray for American insurance...)
-my primary-aged kids qualified for free/reduced lunch because of my low pay
-my amazing wife has a better hourly rate as a neighborhood piano teacher (and totally deserves it!)

So, that's why I went back to school myself to further my own education.

Show threadKing MobSep 3, 2023
@smarmymarmy I've been in a similar situation. I think that being a teacher is such an important role - but, after 25 years - I couldn't put up with the micro-management and extreme high-stakes examinations-focus of the job. The pay (and increasingly worsening mental health of students) just wasn't worth the money. I'm still quite poor - but I don't have that awful dread of failing children that I once had.
Show threadViolet MadderSep 3, 2023
@King_Mob Teachers and health care workers are the two most important undertakings of humanity. Both should be given very high levels of pay and respect.
Show threadKing MobSep 3, 2023
@violetmadder Very true. I'm an ex-teacher and on both counts this isn't true in the UK (if it ever was).
Show threadSamhain NightSep 3, 2023
@King_Mob I couldn’t tell this wasn’t about the US until I read the hashtags
Show threadKing MobSep 3, 2023
@samhainnight Yes, so much that happens seems to happen across the world at similar times. Almost as if - gasp! - the capitalists coordinate what they want to see happen.
Show threadSamhain NightSep 3, 2023
@King_Mob gasp!
Show threadchuchudachuSep 3, 2023

@King_Mob

So they recon some of the teachers don’t earn enough to live. So they help them somehow.

I Wonder, rising the teachers salary wouldn’t be the solution? Because it just looks like they don’t pay their employees enough! 🤷‍♀️

And the money the school spent on food and fund can be given in salary 🤔

It’s me or it really is ridiculous and infuriating?

Show threadKing MobSep 3, 2023

@bloom What angers (maybe saddens?) me is that so many people accept this sort of situation as being natural and something that we just need to endure.

Almost all my life the UK has been either in a period of "cuts", "recession", "austerity" or "cost of living crisis". For me, all this has a single name: capitalism.

Show threadchuchudachuSep 3, 2023

@King_Mob
Yeah workers are giving up their rights to capitalism, step by step, without seeing it happens.

That’s frightening how we have assimilated capitalism logic. Especially how we learned violence and anger are bad and democracy is good enough for workers to acquire rights.

History shows it’s not how it works. And we shouldn’t be ashamed to go in the streets and show how much angry we are and put pressure on capitalists.

So I say, but still working on myself about it

Show threadKing MobSep 3, 2023
@bloom Completely agree!
Show threadchuchudachuSep 3, 2023

@King_Mob
In my country poverty is hidden and poor people ashamed (it’s your fault if you are poor).

We can vote for laws but propaganda is so strong, people vote against their interests and they are proud to: we suffer, but it’s for the common good.

They don’t understand they serve individual interests of the wealthy! And I know selflessness is not one of their quality. #greed