Sir, - The rejection of such a fantastic pay deal by two teachers unions confirms what I have for a long time believed teachers are an arrogant and opinionated lot. It is absolutely incredible that anyone in an already well paid and relatively soft job could turn down a pay deal involving the sum of £67.5 million. They may flex their powerful union muscles all they like: and hold the education of our children to ransom with industrial action, but to me they are just a crowd of greedy parasites with illusions of grandeur.
They argue that the job - sorry, I mean profession - is so stressful that they must have the facility to retire even earlier. What a load of bull! Stress is a personal thing; you either "suffer" it or you don't. Every job is stressful if one is so inclined. All week, I work a high speed printing press. It's a job which doesn't exactly induce sleep. Bus drivers, nurses, supermarket check out girls, sales reps - you name them, there's a hell of a lot of (just as) stressful work out there. I think it's called being part of the rat race.
Where is the stress in teaching when you are sure of job security; sure of a good pension at early retirement? Teachers work in comfortable and quiet surroundings - not noisy factories or busy shops or heavy traffic where the real stress is. They are not intimidated by bullying bosses, a never ending complaining public or the danger of redundancy. To a great extent, teachers are cocooned from the everyday trials and tribulations of the real world.
The Minister for Education has been much too generous, much too accommodating, thus indicating to the parasitical teachers that, in all probability, they will succeed in squeezing yet more out of her. Oh to have union executives like those of the teachers' unions! - Yours, etc.,
Verbena Avenue,
Dublin 13.