A Conservative councillor who suggested teachers should be fired if they did not go to school has been slated for his remarks.

Responding to a social media post attacking teachers who stayed at home over coronavirus-related safety concerns yesterday, Wirral councillor David Burgess-Joyce said: "Should do what Reagan did when the Air Traffic Controllers decided to strike.

"He sacked those who didn’t return to work. Had the desired result."

Defending teachers, Bora Oktas, from the National Education Union (NEU), said: "Wirral residents will be aware that this is not the first time that Cllr Burgess-Joyce has made ill-informed, intemperate and offensive comments on social media."

Mr Oktas, the NEU’s North West regional officer, added: "Teachers have played an admirable and courageous role in protecting our communities from an alarming increase in local coronavirus rates.

"We wouldn’t want to detract from that by providing his latest nonsense with undue oxygen, other than to say that any pent up frustration he has about the regrettable situation the nation finds itself in would be better directed at members of his own party’s parliamentary front-bench."

Since yesterday morning, which was the first day back at school after Christmas for many primary school children, it has been announced that all schools in England will be closed until mid-February as part of a third national lockdown.

Cllr Burgess-Joyce, who represents the ward of Greasby, Frankby and Irby, sought to explain his comments.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he said: "We have a generation of children and young people who have a massive gap in their education caused by Covid-19.

"If it is safe to do so all teachers should undertake their roles.

"There are so many other important jobs in the NHS, supermarkets, utilities etc where we expect them to work to keep the UK going; why not teachers?"

Labour councillor Julie McManus, chair of Wirral's housing committee and a Greasby resident herself said she was disgusted by Cllr Burgess-Joyce's comments.

She said: "Of course, we want schools open, but we need to remember that schools are also workplaces and as employees’ teachers have the right under the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) to work in a safe environment.

"Clearly Cllr Burgess-Joyce does not know his residents very well if he spent more time in his ward, he would know that 10,000 people on the Wirral – almost 10% of the population work in Education a good portion of those will live in the ward he supposed to represent.

"My own son is a teaching assistant with plans to join the teaching profession, like his colleagues he worked throughout the lockdowns supporting the most vulnerable children and those of key workers, what sort of message does this send to him & young people like him?

"Cllr Burgess Joyce stated that we have a generation of young people who have a massive gap in their education caused by Covid-19.

"I would suggest that perhaps he should look to his own Tory front bench and ask why yet again decisions are at the last minute that fact that schools opened on Monday only to be told Monday evening they were in lockdown is a national disgrace.

"If his Government actually took the simple and practical step of reviewing the JCVI list of priorities (vaccination Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation) to include school staff, then at least when schools re-open it will be a safer environment and more likely that they will remain open.

"I sincerely hope that when residents go to the ballot box in Greasby Frankby & Irby they remember Cllr Burgess Joyce’s total disrespect for them."

Former Wirral Conservative leader Ian Lewis: "One of the benefits of no longer being Leader of the Conservative Councillors is not having to apologise for the behaviour of others.

"This individual does not speak for me and I doubt he speaks for many of the 44% of residents of Wirral West who are employed in the public sector. Some people need to learn when to shut it."

Cllr Tom Usher, Deputy Leader of the Labour Group and Vice-chair of the Children, Families and Education Committee said: "We have seen teachers rise to the challenge again and again through
the pandemic. 

"They should be supported in their roles, not threatened. I don’t think for a second that Cllr Burgess-Joyce’s comments represent the views of most residents. In fact I think he should apologise to Wirral teachers.”

Gail Jenkinson, a Greasby, Frankby and Irby residents, and Labour’s candidate in the local elections there added to this: "So many people in Greasby, Frankby and Irby are grateful for the work that teaching staff have done throughout the whole Covid Crisis. 

"It is embarrassing that someone who is meant to represent us has said these disrespectful and uncaring things about people who have gone above and beyond for the sake of our children and have their best interests at heart.”