Talks to get a negotiated settlement in the elementary teachers dispute saw what seems like ritualized mock distress on both sides today, but no apparent progress. The government yesterday handed union head Sam Hammond a proposed contract which it says is complete in every way. Just like the other unions signed, says the education minister Liz Sandals. More like a “cookie cutter” says Hammond. That’s cute but it says nothing about the deal nor even how well he has looked at it. As usual, the people know nothing. The decades of protocol built up when big unions battle big employers must be observed, no matter how it abuses the public interest Parents looking in from the outside may well wonder who is looking after their children’s interests, and indeed, where their ownership of the school system went.
