Teachers oppose drop in pension values
More than 400 members of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) attended a special convention in Dublin at the weekend to discuss ways of addressing potential problems.
All new entrants to the teaching profession from this year will not be entitled to retire on full pension before the age of 65.
Under previous arrangements, teachers could avail of a number of early retirement options after attaining certain levels of service or reaching certain ages.
Fears have been expressed about the continuation of these schemes but ASTI president Susie Hall said the union would not accept any attempt to withdraw them.
She said public sector pensions were coming under attack and the union was completely opposed to any deterioration in teachers’ pensions.
“Retirement and pension arrangements which take account of the realities of teaching must be protected if we are to retain our high quality profession,” she said.
At last April’s ASTI annual convention, acting general secretary John White told members they should use measures which include industrial action to defend the early retirement schemes.
Ms Hall said all society’s challenges manifested themselves in the classroom and continually presented new problems for teachers.
