ASTI attack minister over supervision issue
Mr Dempsey said he will introduce a permanent arrangement for supervision and substitution in ASTI-staffed schools if the union rejects a 1,400-a-year deal.
A difference in the interpretation of the deal led to the ASTI leadership calling another ballot of the 17,000 members.
Last November, 66% of teachers accepted the deal. Now the ASTI leadership has recommended they reject it.
ASTI general secretary Charlie Lennon said he was not surprised by Mr Dempsey’s comments ahead of the ballot from March 3 to 13: “It seems the minister is trying to put pressure on ASTI members with the full understanding of what the consequences will be if they reject the supervision deal.
“But they should make their minds up on the clear consequences for themselves and their school, not based on what the minister says,” he said.
Mr Dempsey said he was not warning the ASTI. However, he said he wanted to make quite clear what would happen if they reject the deal, already in operation by the TUI and INTO.
The National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals has previously called for a permanent supervision scheme to clear uncertainty in many schools. Although they welcomed Mr Dempsey’s proposal, they reiterated that they would prefer to have ASTI members doing work best performed by teachers. Around 2,000 temporary staff have been doing supervision and substitution work in secondary schools since the ASTI withdrew from the duties last March. In most schools, they are employed on a day-to-day basis with little work security.
Teachers Union of Ireland president, whose members teach alongside ASTI members in around 100 schools, said he would prefer to have teachers doing the work.
The minister also clarified that there was no threat of the 13% benchmarking pay rise being withheld from ASTI members if they reject the supervision package. However, he made it clear that they will have to commit to modernisation requirements to qualify for the deal.
The union did not take part in the benchmarking process on public service pay increases, but is likely to ballot their members after its central executive considers the final modernisation proposals for teachers.
The TUI’s second level and third level members will vote on the pay deal next month, while primary teachers will vote in an INTO ballot.
