Are we inclined to be too hard on people that work for the council?

Iright's article on trips abroad for Highland Council has prompted the following anonymous comment. Are we inclined to be too hard on those that work for the council?

'It’s very easy to make snide remarks about people who work for the council; they do not have a platform to defend themselves, and are rarely praised even when their work is excellent. The authors of such comments rarely want to change matters by working for the council (As they themselves are always so great) but are content to sit on the side lines and snipe.With regard business trips abroad… having had to make such trips, to those who again look on from the sidelines it might seem like a great perk of a job, I can assure them it is not. From the Highlands if you are flying to say mainland Europe it always means a very long day getting to say Inverness airport and then on to Gatwick (Sweating you’ll make the connection), or travelling to Aberdeen, Glasgow, or Edinburgh. You spend hours sitting in an airport or on a plane and generally arrive very tired and not really wanting much more than have a shower and to go to sleep, you then attend to your business meeting/exhibition keeping an eye on the clock for your trip home. Rarely is there any time to ‘sight see’ and if you do have a free evening most places are closed. If you are on your own the lonely meals and maybe a drink in the bar are not very exciting, and I can assure people that I would much rather be at home. You do your best to write up notes from your trip on your way back, often arriving home in the wee small hours, and then be expected to be in the office for 9:00 am the next day. Glamorous no, see much of other countries, no.I’m sure with the current budget restrictions Highland Council have cut back on their foreign travel, but all to easy to label them as cretins and their business trips as ‘jollies’.'

Anonymous