Students face further disruption

MORE than 250,000 students face definite disruption for a third consecutive year as Education Minister Noel Dempsey refused to meet the secondary teachers' union for pay talks yesterday.

A short-term breakthrough in the ASTI's long-running pay dispute was effectively ruled out as Minister Dempsey insisted he wouldn't discuss any claims outside the benchmarking process for public service pay.

Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland vice-president Pat Cahill had called for talks on his union's pay demand.

But Mr Dempsey ruled this out.

"The minister has no difficulty in meeting with the ASTI to discuss matters of mutual concern. However, the subject of ASTI pay comes under the wider issue of Government pay policy and must be dealt with in that context," a spokesman for the minister said.

The secondary teachers' union remains firm in its demands for a 30% pay rise.

Students at the 450 schools staffed solely by ASTI members, and 170 more where they also have members employed, are facing another disruptive term as they return to school next Monday.

Until the matter is concluded, the ASTI will instruct members not to do supervision and substitution or to attend in-service training on school subjects.

The ASTI will also remain outside Department of Education talks with the TUI, representing other secondary teachers, and the Irish National Teachers' Organisation on the pensionability of the 37-an-hour deal they have accepted for continuing supervision and substitution duties.

But even these groups have warned of minor disruption until that issue is clarified.

National Parents Council (Post Primary) president Michael O'Regan said the stand-off between both sides should end, but said he understood the minister's position.

"It's very difficult to know how the ASTI are going to move on this. Sadly, it's our children who will be worst affected as the dispute goes on and we would ask the teachers to consider that," he said.

The Union of Secondary Students said both sides should try and meet half way to resolve the issue, otherwise the dispute would affect exam performances.

"The Government appears to have done absolutely nothing to address this and we can only hope Mr Dempsey will take it on," said spokesperson Daire Hickey.

"But the ASTI have to compromise and they should enter into whatever is on offer to them."

An ASTI spokesperson said all 17,000 members want the matter resolved. She insisted students would not face disruption.

"There shouldn't be any great disruption because the contingency plan for supervision staff is in place at schools since last term. We will be considering developments which took place over the summer, such as benchmarking and supervision payments, in the coming weeks," she said.

While the ASTI's powerful standing committee meets today and tomorrow, any position they take on these matters would have to be put to the 180-member executive or a special convention of hundreds of delegates.

Any Government concession on the ASTI claim would almost certainly cause uproar among other public service unions which participated in the benchmarking process.