Madam,

With reference to the recent article concerning the deadlock between Ceredigion County Council and the University of Aberystwyth over the provision of Welsh language classes and the fate of the 19 staff involved, I would ask both sides – to use an old fashioned phrase – to pull their fingers out.

This unresolved situation has been around for some time and is very demoralising for the staff and their families in not knowing what the future holds: they could have mortgages and young children to provide for and to be “in limbo” is very unfair to say the least.

For organisations that profess a desire for the survival of the Welsh language and in many cases stipulate that staff must be bilingual, their actions to date would tend to undermine their credibility.

Apart from my concerns for the excellent teachers, my interest in this matter is as a “Sais” now living in Wales and learning the language.

This term finishes at the end of June and neither staff nor students know if lessons will restart in the autumn.

I would not be surprised to learn that this impasse has financial implications and is due to “austerity”.

Maybe, therefore, it is time to start “austerity” at the top rather than the bottom.

Yours etc,

Michael Davies,