Rejection of deal may result in tougher industrial action

SECONDARY school teachers angrily rejected the public sector pay deal, heralding a split within the trade union movement and the possibility of heightened industrial action in schools.

At the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) annual conference in Galway yesterday, delegates unanimously backed an emergency motion rejecting the proposed Public Service Agreement.

The decision of the delegates means the union’s 180 member central executive council must consider its position on the deal at a meeting tomorrow. That meeting is likely to result in the motion being put to a ballot of the ASTI’s 18,500 members, with a recommendation from the council that it be rejected.