Covid bonus for officials shows ministers are giving away sense

Teachers’ unions have withdrawn their claim for a bonus payment for work during the pandemic. Their “extraordinary efforts”, the unions had first claimed, included remote teaching and keeping the schools open. Which was not how anyone remembered it. We did recall several threats to go on strike, such as one last autumn from the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland, unless the government tackled concerns about Covid in schools. There was another last April, when teachers were bumped down the running order for vaccines. We also recall how long it took to get children with special needs back in the classroom last spring. Yet teachers’ unions brazenly announced they “expected to be included” in any talks with the government about rewarding workers’ efforts in the