Teachers decide to vote on benchmarking

THE decision of the ASTI teachers union to ballot members on the benchmarking package has been welcomed by Education Minister Noel Dempsey.

The union did not participate in the public service pay review, which resulted in a recommended 13% salary increase for teachers.

However, the ASTI’s 180-member Executive Council yesterday decided the deal should be put out to a full ballot. The council made no recommendation on how members should vote, in a series of ballots between March 31 and April 7.