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Wednesday, May 19, 2010

A Crime for our Times!



The government has made an announcement that their cost cutting exercise which up to now has included Civil Servants is going to be extended into other areas. Some teachers in the Spanish system are classed as Civil Servants and are paid substantially more than we in the so-called private sector. They have been told that their salary is going to be cut, that they will be subject to a pay freeze next year as well as their pensions being affected.

The Government has now announced that all teachers, including those in the private sector which have any fraction of their salaries paid by the Generalitat will find their salaries cut. I must admit that I do not understand why the Generalitat pays any money at all to an institution like ours which has some of the wealthiest parents in Catalonia sending their children to us. The fees are substantial and still they are subsidized by the government.

The odd system means that for most of us in school at least part of our salaries are paid by the Generalitat. I do not think that the percentage is exactly the same for all of us so there will be a corresponding disparity in the final amounts. Our school is faced with a problem and it will be interesting to see how they cope with it. The obvious solution, at least to me, is that our wealthy institution takes up the debt and ensures that all members of staff are paid the same as they would have been before. Any other solution would be patently unfair. Still, I will reserve my wrath for any real situation which is presented to us rather than a hypothetical one.

I have just called in to see the financial head of our school and have been told that he is in a meeting with the directora about exactly this problem. I would expect some sort of announcement by the end of the day – or at least an e-mail to let us know that it is being discussed.

I am going to find it fascinating to see how the staff react to a cut in our already ungenerous pay! It is not a topic for excited conversation and no one has shown any concern. I feel rising panic and outrage: but I am the exception.

This is what comes of taking the final leap and ordering the new camera: I raise my game to take in a x14 optical zoom and financial chaos results!

There has been a little more talk about the introduction of laptop computers for the first and second year pupils in secondary next year, but nothing concrete seems to have been decided and we are now in May before the implementation in September. I await the details with interest. And that, of course, is the curse being made manifest – we are indeed living in interesting times!

This is my early finish which, for the first time for weeks, coincides with a glorious day.

The Third Floor I think!

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