Today’s crybabies of the week CHOSE to go on strike for one day and to lose one day’s pay.
Choices have consequences.
Teachers say they have been seeking help from foodbanks and hardship grants after the May 29 mega-strike cost them a day’s pay.
[…] As a part-time teacher, losing a day’s wages meant a third of her income for the week was gone.
Cheryl said she lived “pay packet to pay packet,” and the loss of earnings meant she couldn’t afford electricity, her mortgage or “even petrol to get to my next job”.
Losing a day’s pay was a blow for Auckland teacher Renee Rose, too. As a single mother, “every cent” of her salary was budgeted for rent, daycare, bills and food, she said.
She applied to the Post-Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) for a hardship grant, and the $100 she received went straight on gas and food -the essentials that meant she was living “above the line”.
Auckland teacher Renee Rose had to apply for a hardship grant after the recent mega-strike.
Asking for help wasn’t comfortable: “You feel like you’ve failed in life,” she said.
But on a teacher’s salary it was impossible to save, she said.
For her, it wasn’t just about a day’s pay. She said it was impossible for her to afford to have another baby on her current wage.
“It’s sad, I love being a mum and I’d love to have another child,” she said.
After five years at university, she said she felt she shouldn’t be in this position.
“I am good at what I do and I change the lives of many [students], why should I be in hardship? Why should I be struggling?”
Stuff
