Sir, - As a secondary teacher I am deeply depressed by the latest turn in the ASTI dispute.
The Labour Court, a neutral and honest broker, has conceded that we have a legitimate pay claim and argued that it can be achieved through the benchmarking process. Is there any reason to believe that much of what we claim will not be won by the INTO and TUI through benchmarking? Furthermore, because all teacher salaries are common we will eventually get what they achieve. If this is so, why are we threatening this year's certificate examinations?
The current campaign has been a public relations disaster. We have alienated students, parents, fellow teachers and popular support. We have seen our profession and every facet of our working lives subject to scrutiny, much of it hostile. Our cause has not been served by some of our representatives, who have come across as insensitive and inflexible.
Some facets of this action were ill-advised from the beginning. We abandoned the support of our colleagues in the INTO and TUI. By withdrawing from Congress we forfeited the support of fellow trade unionists. At a time when the Government was desperately trying to shore up the PPF, we chose to threaten it. Our failure to make concessions to Leaving Cert students has been, at the least, a tactical error.
Should the present course of action continue, any resulting victory will be pyrrhic. Nothing will compensate for the alienation of our students, the undermining of our professional status, the loss of public esteem and the resulting collapse in morale.
Our dispute is not with our students or their parents. It is with Mr Woods and the Government. Let us redirect our energies at the source of our problems - not at our allies. Our cause is just, our tactics must be likewise. Let's begin by lifting the threat to this year's State exams. - Yours, etc.,
Joe Coy, Kilbannon, Tuam, Co Galway.