A Political Militant

I am on strike tomorrow. Not by accident, but because I actually voted for strike action. Doesn't it make every bit of sense for my salary to remain in line with inflation? It's not like my rent and food costs are not going to rise by 4.4% (or thereabouts).

Evidently, however, my strange upbringing (hanging out with other kids at local Labour Party meetings while the grown-ups talked about whatever), has rendered me incapable of seeing how disgusting taking strike action is.

I was hanging around in reprographics, waiting to get a ream of paper for the staffroom photocopier, but there was no one around except a fellow NQT (Science, PHD) who I've always found to be extremely supercilious and strangely pious. To make small-talk I asked if she was striking. No, she said, but was I? I said I was, and she took that opportunity(?) to espouse about how the very reason she didn't join the NUT was because of "things like this" and their "militant" reputation.

Militant reputation! She must have missed every news report, because everything I've heard and read says this is the first strike in over 20 years. I found it hilarious at this point cuttingly remark, "Well, I am from a militant background," to which she didn't respond, except to tell me that she saw herself as extremely privileged to be earning the money she was AND she'd taken a pay cut to teach.

She made some attempt to recover the conversation by then telling me, "But if you do get us a pay raise I won't say no!" I grimaced. I should have said, "But we're all so privileged. Won't you waiver your pay for the government to assign to those who need it more?"

What a twat. I will take every opportunity to give her ambiguous but possibly dirty looks in the future.