Teacher unions to fill vacancies

THE two largest teacher unions are set to fill senior management vacancies in the coming weeks.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) held interviews this week for the position of deputy general secretary. The post was held by John White until his appointment as general secretary of the 16,500-member union earlier this year.

A handful of candidates are being considered, including a number of senior staff and at least one former officer.

The interview panel includes the ASTI’s current officer board and a number of members of its powerful standing committee.

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) is about to conduct a postal ballot among its 30,000-plus members for the same position.

Catherine Byrne announced she was stepping down from the job as deputy general secretary and treasurer in June. She has held the post since 2001, when she became the first woman to hold an elected full-time position in the union.

The race to replace Ms Byrne looks likely to be a close contest between the four candidates, including current president Sheila Nunan. The others are assistant general secretaries, Tom O’Sullivan and Billy Sheahan, and senior INTO official Noel Ward.

Each had received strong support when branch nominations closed last week but the members from both sides of the Border will decide who gets the job.

Ballot papers will be issued next week and must be returned by mid-December, with the result due in the week before Christmas.

Meanwhile, the ASTI will not ballot members on a possible return to membership of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) until after a meeting of its central executive committee in January.

The union withdrew from ICTU during its pay dispute five years ago.