If you can't grasp logic, teach

In a rare manifestation of cop-on among the FF part of the Cabinet,  Mary Hanafin has let the education sector's  Millie Tants and Dave Sparts know that they will have their snouts removed temporarily from the trough should they decide to attend this Friday's exercise in futility/ICTU Day of Protest.  There's little point in rehashing what can be 'confidently asserted'  about the Irish Ferries case: majority of workforce accepted redundancy terms; Ireland's full employment status should prevent lengthy unemployment period for redundant staff; Irish people will puff and bluster and still use a ferry company that's a sight lot cheaper than the more ethically-sound (by leftist standards) rival, but the teachers' brass neck make one cling to this little mantra of common sense.   You can take it from li'l ol' bureacrat me that no public sector worker will ever have to fear being outsourced, for those of a contractually established nature enjoy jobs for life, so while the teachers may have touchy-feely empathy with Irish Ferries staff, they have no comprehension of financial realities.  And the same goes for most, if not all, public sector workers.   These professions of solidarity are worth precisely diddly squat.   My wife said it best in the course of our slog of a commute to Dublin this morning: "It's not enough that teachers will get this Thursday off, but they also want another taxpayer-funded jolly the day after.  Nice work if you can get it." 

Comments

[potato]

It would be a wonderful sign of solidarity if union members agreed to give up their weekend to protest. Taking time off to protest out of someone elses pocket hardly counts as effort.

[Kevin]

As both a person (yep.) and a Leaving Cert student, I whole-heartedly agree.

[ainelivia]

Just curious, is the title equivalent to that saying: Those who can do, those who can't teach?

Nice to see you back.

[Neil]

Indeed and it is a very poor paraphrase of that famous solecism, Aine. I hope to be back a sight lot more regularly than of late, too.