Two largest unions opposed to Government pay gap proposals

Siobhan Peters, a Tipperary branch delegate and a member of the standing committee of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), joined the teaching profession in 2011 but earns €5,000 less than her 2010 colleague and is five points behind him on the pay scale.

All three teachers’ unions have unanimously passed an emergency motion on pay inequality paving the way for joint strikes by 70,000 teachers.

Second-level teachers could stand outside school gates in the autumn if newer entrants to the profession are not put on the same pay levels as longer-serving counterparts.