What’s wrong with Nigel de Gruchy is shown by the atmosphere in staffrooms and teachers’ homes across the country.

Exhaustion, demoralisation, deskilling, payment by results,l ow status, low pay, burgeoning hours, escalating targets, disruption by pupils, bullying by heads, by senior managers, by parents, by pupils, are a daily reality faced by the majority of teachers.

It’s not that Mr de Gruchy brought these about. It’s not that before he became union leader none of these problems existed. It’s just that with him in charge not a single significant lasting success was achieved by the union on any of these issues.

Is that why Eamon O’Kane wants to through in the towel and merge with the Association of Teachers and Lecturers?

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