Max Power

I don't need to, he stated that any disciplinary action could lead to even fewer teachers. He's right, but if people continue to swing the lead, more will join in and what the hell, who needs to go to work anyway! Discipline breeds discipline, but obviously not in PS!

And there's the problem, as Helix pointed out!

You had better tell the teaching staff who are trying and failing to cover absences that then, hadn't you?

You never took a sick day when you weren't sick? Pedantic or what, supply teachers are taking up the slack but there are not enough of them by the sounds of it! If you really want to know, ask a teacher. I don't bet btw.

Excuse me, it's not me that's coming to the conclusion, it's the teachers who are left to pick up the slack! You are talking as though this is agreed absence, it's not! This is the problem isn't it, time off with no consequences, very good. No, but if they were there'd be no danger of me catching something. I don't know if they are sick or not, but it's prolonged absences, from what I am reliably told, which are the problem! I don't think anyone would have a problem with a genuine illness now and then, but it appears that many are swinging the lead, and it's not me saying that!

I'm not talking about teachers in my day, I'm talking about teachers today, some of them obviously can't cope with the job by the sounds of it. No I'm not! Maybe they have left, and not bothered to tell anyone? You don't have to keep paying for the same building work over and over because the tradesmen didn't turn up for work again.

I probably didn't make it clear, some of these teachers seem to almost disappear without trace. What I expect the DESC to do is get a grip on absenteeism, find the cause and do something about it!

A friend of mine who has retired from teaching is currently working as a supply teacher at various island schools. It appears that the £1m spent on relocating teachers to the IoM has a flaw, they seem to take an awful lot of sick days, leading to supply teachers having to stand in. He says that he has more work than he can handle, at around £1200 per week! This is on top of the salaries being paid to the sick teachers. This is having a terrible impact on the pupils apparently, a lot of lesson time is being lost. https://www.three.fm/news/isle-of-man-news/nearly-1m-on-recruitment-benefits-in-last-10-years/ Between health and education, it seems that we have two extremely inefficient government departments, blowing taxpayers cash willy nilly?

I think it's a worthwhile enterprise, I can understand how difficult it must be to need these things and be unable to obtain them. It still takes a bit of pre-planning, and probably why women are usually more organised than men? Having said that, it highlights how socialists view the world, instead of tackling the problem of poverty, they just take money off people and give it away!

Well, the IRA were acting like Hamas, murdering RUC officers, army personnel and anyone connected with them. They wanted an extreme reaction and sometimes they got it. Catholics were associated with the IRA by both of these organisations and some of them didn't differentiate.

An interesting opinion from the son of the founder of Hamas, it follows the video of the possible new Scottish first minister.

Apologies, I edited my post as you were posting. If you look at the table in the Which report, all those companies come out ahead of the SPCo in the customer surveys.

John, I'm a fan of the SPCo, but I was horrified at the price of a return Seacat sailing to Liverpool, which I was forced to buy. I couldn't wait a week and travel at a different time, although I did book three weeks in advance...£134! Same week, Hull Rotterdam, 10 hour trip with cabin, £255 return. Both as a foot passenger and the P&O ferry is like a mini liner, entertainment, nice choice of dining options, as I know you are aware of being a regular traveller. I understand the limitations of operating on short journeys, but the SPCo is our lifeline, we need reliable travel at a respectable price.

'Which' Magazine has just completed a survey of UK ferry companies, in the domestic league table, IOMSPCo are a distant last place. Ferries to the Isle of Man Isle of Man Steam Packet Until the Steam Packet started in 1830, the Isle of Man could be cut off for weeks. You’d think the world’s oldest continually operating ferry service would be a treasured public service. But the Isle of Man government-owned route is the worst rated of any domestic route. Long-suffering islanders complain about poor facilities, too many cancellations and ‘sky-rocketing prices’. Plans to improve reliability by making staff sleep on board (to ‘respond more flexibly to bad weather’) and firing those who refuse, provoked a union dispute. https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/ferries/article/best-and-worst-ferries-for-2024-aZBMl6S5heSv

I believe there are regulations covering operators, but he is just a driver apparently. I suppose if he had broken driving regulations it would be a different matter?

I'm not sure if this is embargoed but there was a lot of concern for a young girl from Ballaugh having gone missing a couple of days ago, and all sorts of speculation has followed. Now there appears to be nothing, has she been found safe and well, or is she still missing?

That ghastly sinking feeling you get when someone announces: "The children have written a little play for us, and now they’d like to perform it, so can everyone come into the living room please," is exactly what you get when you think of a Comin roadshow!

Thanks Roger, I think you're right. I should research more before I post!

Well, things are different in these enlightened times. I was thinking of starting a similar thread about the guy who had a credit card type blade going onto the boat, but was picked up in the search area. He was carrying it unknowingly as he was an outdoors person and used it for his job or whatever. Instead of just confiscating it, he finds himself in court, with all that entails, and ended up with 12 months probation! I imagine an armed response unit were called, pinned him down at gunpoint and he missed his ferry?? https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/probation-for-man-caught-with-knife-at-sea-terminal/

Chairman of RTLC and the taxi union and federation speak out.... https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/rtlc-defends-taxi-tariff-changes/

Oh deary me, another permanent bombsite in the offing?

That's probably a conspiracy theory though, why would they want to decimate the taxi industry, I can't think of a reason, the late buses are busy anyway? Why did nobody appear to complain about the 11pm uplift when the proposed changes were put out for comments?

I think it gives the taxi drivers discretion to charge less, this is only the maximum fare. They were all asked if they wanted the fares raised if you read the notification, the majority of respondents said yes, many didn't bother to respond by the looks of it. It's not happened behind their backs so why are they complaining, it's been done to help them rather than anything else, I'm sure they would be moaning if they hadn't had an inflation increase? It says pre booked cabs can have a negotiated fare, surely that's ideal for everyone, not on the meter.

No, it's determined by what locals spend in the Manx economy. So a share is given back.