Demands for equal pay may end ‘outside school gates’

Second-level teachers could stand outside school gates in the autumn if newer entrants to the profession are not put on the same pay levels as longer-serving counterparts.

The possibility arises from a motion overwhelmingly passed by delegates at the annual convention of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), whose members work at more than half the country’s 730 second-level schools.

Since 2011, cuts to salary scales and withdrawal of allowances for qualifications have placed some newly qualified teachers on annual earnings of €9,000 a year less than counterparts — despite both working full time.