Politics at Westminster | BREAKING: UKIP

Today university staff are striking, including academics.

Obviously five hours a week of teaching, one paper a term to publish, four month summer holidays and a handsome pension isn't enough. All power to them, I say.
 
Yeah but since they're striking about pay cuts,everything you said there is irrelevant.
 
Now now, let's not let facts get in the way of a Mail article.
 
Alastair thinks the Mail is a harmless joke paper that shouldn't count when we discuss the problems of the English Press. So it's odd he's quoting it for actual news.
 
David Cameron is making Tony Blair look like a paradigm of common sense and virtue.

He's awful.
 
alastair said:
Not at all. They're the most overpaid workers in Britain. I'd cut their wages down to around £10 an hour.
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The lecturers in my Uni stand to lose out on some pay when they go on strike in comparison to others, this isn't about greed.
 
alastair said:
I think they should lose their pay. The contempt they have for students is astonishing.
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They showed no contempt towards us actually, have you actually been to University, or know any lecturers? Not all of them went on strike, the people who did felt they had no choice. Sometimes actually having a first hand account is better than reading the news.
 
Mitch_93 said:
They showed no contempt towards us actually, have you actually been to University, or know any lecturers? Not all of them went on strike, the people who did felt they had no choice. Sometimes actually having a first hand account is better than reading the news.
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No choice? Are our lecturers thick or what?
 
Mitch_93 said:
They showed no contempt towards us actually, have you actually been to University, or know any lecturers? Not all of them went on strike, the people who did felt they had no choice. Sometimes actually having a first hand account is better than reading the news.
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I have been to university.

Officially, I had 20 weeks of lectures a year. In reality, I ended up having around 16 because the equivalent of four teaching weeks would not take place due to strikes from lecturers. This was both internal strikes and external strikes, if you see what I mean.

I really find it baffling how students can defend this kind of activity. The reason they don't all go on strike is because some have the understanding that they're not immune from cuts and pay freezes.

Academics have never cared about students. If they did, they'd choose one of the other 32 weeks of the year to strike in, not in one of the 20 they're actually teaching.
 
711 said:
No choice? Are our lecturers thick or what?
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Why, striking is not a decision you take lightly.

alastair said:
I have been to university.

Officially, I had 20 weeks of lectures a year. In reality, I ended up having around 16 because the equivalent of four teaching weeks would not take place due to strikes from lecturers. This was both internal strikes and external strikes, if you see what I mean.

I really find it baffling how students can defend this kind of activity. The reason they don't all go on strike is because some have the understanding that they're not immune from cuts and pay freezes.

Academics have never cared about students. If they did, they'd choose one of the other 32 weeks of the year to strike in, not in one of the 20 they're actually teaching.
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What a stupid statement, how can you say this tarring every single one of them with the same brush. You went to university, so you know a lot of them do care about their students.
 
Mitch_93 said:
Why, striking is not a decision you take lightly.




What a stupid statement, how can you say this tarring every single one of them with the same brush. You went to university, so you know a lot of them do care about their students.
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Well obviously I'm generalising. I've met a couple who care.

I don't know what university you're at, or what you're studying, but you can't have been in uni very long if you're not cynical of their motives.
 
alastair said:
Well obviously I'm generalising. I've met a couple who care.

I don't know what university you're at, or what you're studying, but you can't have been in uni very long if you're not cynical of their motives.
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I've been at Uni for 2 years now, and I go to MMU studying History. Pretty much all the lecturers I've met don't treat me with disdain at all. Besides its not always about money for some people. You're just going to call me delusional, but I don't think every single Academic is an arsehole who just wants to make as much money as possible and doesn't give a crap about the students in their class.
 
Mitch_93 said:
I've been at Uni for 2 years now, and I go to MMU studying History. Pretty much all the lecturers I've met don't treat me with disdain at all. Besides its not always about money for some people. You're just going to call me delusional, but I don't think every single Academic is an arsehole who just wants to make as much money as possible and doesn't give a crap about the students in their class.
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Not every single one, I was clearly exaggerating.

You're also at a university where that type of culture is probably not ingrained, which helps.
 
alastair said:
Not every single one, I was clearly exaggerating.

You're also at a university where that type of culture is probably not ingrained, which helps.
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You were exaggerating, but using for your argument, which is what I'm objecting to. Well no I don't imagine there is any kind of culture at MMU, they went on strike, but its not like they are going to end up any way better off for it. They are getting a 1% increase while the dean gets much more. In an ideal world they wouldn't have to, besides to do you object to College or High School/Primary school teachers for going on strike?
 
Mitch_93 said:
You were exaggerating, but using for your argument, which is what I'm objecting to. Well no I don't imagine there is any kind of culture at MMU, they went on strike, but its not like they are going to end up any way better off for it. They are getting a 1% increase while the dean gets much more. In an ideal world they wouldn't have to, besides to do you object to College or High School/Primary school teachers for going on strike?
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I object to anyone going on strike when it isn't necessary, especially in the case of teachers because it means thousands of parents have to arrange child-care.

Going on strike when you're receiving a 1% increase is ludicrous. I get that it's a net decrease but still, these are tough times. You're not automatically entitled to a pay rise. This is an attitude of entitlement.
 
alastair said:
I object to anyone going on strike when it isn't necessary, especially in the case of teachers because it means thousands of parents have to arrange child-care.

Going on strike when you're receiving a 1% increase is ludicrous. I get that it's a net decrease but still, these are tough times. You're not automatically entitled to a pay rise. This is an attitude of entitlement.
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So any strike about pay is pretty ludicrous then?
 
alastair said:
I object to anyone going on strike when it isn't necessary, especially in the case of teachers because it means thousands of parents have to arrange child-care.

Going on strike when you're receiving a 1% increase is ludicrous. I get that it's a net decrease but still, these are tough times. You're not automatically entitled to a pay rise. This is an attitude of entitlement.
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Unless you're one of Dave's mates, then you get a tax cut whilst people like teachers take the brunt for the country.
 
NinjaFletch said:
Unless you're one of Dave's mates, then you get a tax cut whilst people like teachers take the brunt for the country.
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That's pure ideology.

We've accrued more tax under the new rate. That's better for the country.

Would you rather he raised it to 90% and then got less tax as a result?

It's not reasonable.
 
alastair said:
That's pure ideology.

We've accrued more tax under the new rate. That's better for the country.

Would you rather he raised it to 90% and then got less tax as a result?

It's not reasonable.
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How are you calculating more accrued tax?

Because yes, by squeezing the lower and middle bands of course he's done that.

Whether that had to be accompanied with backhanders to his mates is the issue (I'm also really not convinced that Britain going from the 5th highest European top bracket income tax to the 11th is that significant, non-doms are hardly going to become UK tax payers for the sake of 5p on the pound).
 
NinjaFletch said:
How are you calculating more accrued tax?

Because yes, by squeezing the lower and middle bands of course he's done that.

Whether that had to be accompanied with backhanders to his mates is the issue (I'm also really not convinced that Britain going from the 5th highest European top bracket income tax to the 11th is that significant, non-doms are hardly going to become UK tax payers for the sake of 5p on the pound).
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The Tories have taken the poorest out of tax altogether. You forget that.

Labour only had this 50% rate for 3 weeks, as well. And claiming that the friends of the Conservative Party are significantly different to those of Labour is naive really.
 
alastair said:
The Tories have taken the poorest out of tax altogether. You forget that.

Labour only had this 50% rate for 3 weeks, as well. And claiming that the friends of the Conservative Party are significantly different to those of Labour is naive really.
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Lib Dems.
 
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