ASTI appoints RTÉ man

THE decision of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) to appoint an RTÉ producer as its deputy general secretary has led to the resignation of a prominent member.

Diarmuid de Paor is to fill the vacancy left when John White became general secretary earlier this year, following yesterday’s ratification at a special meeting of the union’s 23-member standing committee.

Mr de Paor has been a producer with RTÉ and was also a former shop steward at the station.

His appointment comes following strong internal division among standing committee members, who faced a three-week delay before voting on the ratification of his choice by a selection committee. It had interviewed at least a handful of candidates, including former ASTI president Bernadine O’Sullivan.

She led the union at the beginning of its controversial pay dispute in 1999/2000 and was at the helm when it withdrew from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), a body members will vote on rejoining next month.

The appointment has led to the decision of standing committee member Bernard Lynch to resign.

“This was the last straw for me. It’s nothing personal against Mr de Paor but the decision is a grotesque insult to active members and head office staff who applied for the job, many with 30 years’ experience of teaching or fighting at the top level for teachers,” Mr Lynch said.

“I have found it increasingly difficult to work with a leadership which is moving towards involvement in national pay agreement talks. I would rather look after my own interests than be represented by ASTI.”

Mr Lynch was a strong advocate of the union’s pay dispute, which ended more than two years ago, and also favours the ASTI’s continued independence from ICTU.