The new general secretary of the Ulster Teachers' Union, Ray Calvin, may lack the fiery combativeness of predecessor David Allen, but he is a passionate advocate of a better education system and a strong defender of teachers. Calvin was active as a sabbatical officer at Stranmillis College of Education. Afterwards he served as number two in the UTU for 26 years before taking up his present post at 53.

A strong trade unionist, he is aghast at the failure of the Labour government to remove Tory anti-union legislation. "It's time for the rights working people have won, sometimes at great cost, to be put back in place," he says. "Indeed, they should be extended to bring us into line with the rest of the European Union."

At the recent annual UTU conference he impressed delegates with a thoughtful speech on the education service. It included a wish-list of 19 issues the British government - or a new Assembly - must tackle, such as smaller classes, ending the 11-plus and cutting the number of teachers on temporary and part-time contracts.

He told Education & Living last week that the big issue is paperwork - "every minute spent on unnecessary bureaucracy means one less minute educating children." The government must begin listening to teachers, the people with hands-on experience of the problems in schools.

But, he says, there is also a duty on teachers and their unions. "One thing I would like to achieve is to bring about a greater degree of unity among teachers on these islands. We are far too small in a European context; even if we can't speak with one voice, we should have a co-ordinated voice."

As a predominantly Protestant union, the UTU has been suspicious of cross-border bodies, but Calvin believes it should positively consider affiliating to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.