Madam, - As a secondary school teacher who has recently had to accede to holding parent-teacher meetings outside working hours, holding in-service training days at weekends and taking on the extra workload of the Education Act for a benchmarking increase of just over €80 per week on a phased basis between now and 2005, I was incensed to hear this morning that the Taoiseach had been awarded a €500 per week "backdated" benchmarking increase.
This increase alone is almost equivalent to my annual salary. I am interested in hearing what concessions in productivity he and other politicians have made to merit this increase. - Yours, etc.,
CRENA SHEVLIN, Loughlinstown, Co Dublin.