‘They deserve to be on a good wage’: Dublin parents back teachers on industrial action
Parents in Dublin have expressed support for teachers currently engaged in industrial action over a public sector pay dispute. While some parents are concerned about the impact of potential strikes on their work, most agree that teachers deserve better wages.
Why it matters
The support from the public highlights the broader economic pressures facing public sector workers and the potential for social disruption during labor disputes.
“I didn’t even know there was anything going on with the teachers. Now, his ma probably knows,” says Caroline Anglim as she holds her young grandson’s hand.
She has just collected him from playschool in The Liberties in Dublin city centre and takes out her phone and rings her daughter.
“Hang on,” she says, as she learns that primary schoolteachers from the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation began a work-to-rule on Monday amid a public sector pay dispute involving more than 100,000 public sector workers.
“Nikita, did you know there was anything going on with the teachers and nurses and all that? Oh you did? I’m standing here with a journalist, and I just said I’d ring you,” she says.
Anglim believes it will affect all parents, “especially working parents”, though it is unclear whether she is telling The Irish Times or her daughter.
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