Way paved for unions to ally against cuts
The ongoing ballot of the 32,000 members of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation will prove crucial to the success or failure of the overall deal, as it is one of the largest public services unions.
However, while its executive has made no recommendation on how they vote, the majority of speakers in an hour-long debate on the topic at the INTO congress were opposed to the proposals. The deal would see cuts to the pay of staff earning over €65,000, loss of payments for school supervision, but some clawback of the cuts to newer teachers’ pay in recent years.
However, as the ballot is continuing, the only wording of a motion accepted for debate steered away from turning it into an argument for or against the proposed deal.
Crucially, however, the passing of the motion from the Mayo and Sligo district means the union executive must urgently liaise with those in other public service unions to promote and plan what it calls a Public Service Solidarity Alliance. There were calls for much closer work with fellow teacher unions in particular.
The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland leaders, and this week its convention, has called on the 17,000 members to vote down the deal. The Teachers’ Union of Ireland is planning possible industrial action if efforts are made to impose conditions of Croke Park II on its members, who have overwhelmingly rejected the deal already.
However, the threat of pay cuts being introduced through Government legislation hangs over the process.
The INTO ballot result should be known on Apr 15, but congress delegates and executive members vowed yesterday to fight for equal pay for younger teachers.
Mark MacLiam said he does not deserve to be paid any less than other teachers. “I’m a new teacher and I’m very angry because I’m a second-class citizen in my own profession. I’m doing extra hours in my school under Croke Park but my pay wasn’t protected.”
INTO president Brendan O’Sullivan said: “I accept that we have failed to protect your wages, but I do not accept that we did so deliberately. And I do not accept that we will ever give up until we have one single pay scale for all teachers young and old in this profession.”
