AS a father of two children whose schools were closed today, the teachers who have taken part in strike action have lost my respect.

As a profession, you would expect teachers to be intelligent but they cannot see that public final salary pensions are unaffordable.

To take strike action when negotiations are still taking place, with all the inconvenience it causes is totally irresponsible.

Teachers have already been assured that the money they have paid in is protected and will still have a pension that anyone in the private sector could only dream of, not to mention 13 weeks paid holiday a year.

Why should tax payers contribute to public sector pensions when we have seen our private pensions devalued and we will have to work longer ourselves.

I don't expect anyone to top up my pension, so why do the teachers expect the rest of us hard pressed private sector workers to? Shame on you.

JOHN BREWER, Parkstone