Sir, - If we are to avoid the scarcely imaginable disaster of a teachers' strike wrecking the Junior and Leaving Certificate exams, it seems evident that both the ASTI and the Government must act with unprecedented generosity and imagination. They owe as much to the students whose interests they claim to represent.
Let us, therefore, find a temporary formula to facilitate the forthcoming exams and their marking. In return for the postponement of strike action, I would propose that the government makes an immediate offer of a substantial part of the large salary increase which all agree teachers deserve. The details of such a provisional settlement could be negotiated through the good offices of an expert and mutually agreed mediator.
It is not acceptable that concerns about "rights" and `'precedents" and "appropriate procedures" should seriously damage the academic future of our entirely innocent young citizens. In the event that the suggested formula did not lead to an overall solution to the ASTI's grievances, its strike could be renewed. I would suggest, however, that if a temporary compromise were quickly accepted, enough goodwill could be generated before the autumn to reach a full resolution of this dispute. - Yours, etc.
John Feighery SVD, City Quay, Dublin 2.