Cabinet warning escalates row with teachers

The Government is on a collision course with 16,000 secondary school teachers, after it told the Association of Secondary Teachers (ASTI) they are obliged to undertake unpaid substitution and supervision duties from next month.

After yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, a statement was issued by the Department of Education warning teachers that even if they reject the Haddington Road Agreement again, these duties, now worth €1,700 per year to a teacher, will from mid-January be “mandatory and unpaid” in line with the latest public sector pay agreement.

The Government’s decision to use its emergency financial legislation to force the teachers to undertake this work marks a significant ramping up of the Government position, as it was unclear up to now who else would provide this role. During previous industrial disputes, the department paid non-teachers to do the work for health and safety reasons.