Sir, - I write to express my concern at the Government's stance towards the ASTI teachers union and the implications for other trade unions.
The Government has firmly refused to entertain the ASTI claim outside the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. The corollary is the establishment of a dangerous precedent, namely that no union can negotiate on behalf of its members outside a partnership agreement. The effect would be to render the negotiating licence held by trade unions useless and the unions toothless. This is Thatcherism by stealth and should be resisted. - Yours, etc.,
Peter Lydon, Ballymun, Dubin 11.