Teachers may defy union executive to accept pay deal
Members of the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) are to begin balloting today on proposals aimed at dealing with a dispute around new-entrant pay, working hours and Junior Cycle reform.
The union has set out out measures, including further strike action, which would be taken if members vote in favour of rejecting the offer.
It is now likely the outcome of the vote will be tight.
The ASTI executive had decided to recommend a rejection of the proposals before Christmas, however, at a meeting earlier this month, it is understood this position had softened somewhat.
Members of the ASTI are currently not in line for the €1,000 pay increase announced by Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe last week. Nor have they received increases given to newly qualified teachers, as they have been refusing to work Croke Park Agreement hours during their dispute.
Mr Donohoe had been criticised for not giving exact details on how the €120m public sector wage increase will be funded when he said it would come from savings.
Yesterday, he maintained that funding to bring forward the wage increase to April instead of September would be found form savings and efficiencies.
“We have €145m that I will identify this year, the reason why I am confident I will identify this is that it is less than the amount of money my department identified in efficiencies and savings in 2016,” said Mr Donohoe.
“I have been crystal clear, we will maintain the service and capital commitments that we have for 2017.”
He said the alternative could have been a collapse of the Lansdowne Road Agreement which would have been “a far bigger challenge to our ability to maintain stability”.
“It would mean for the second half of the year I would have to find amounts of money that I don’t know at the moment, that would have huge consequences to service delivery,” he said.
Separately, nurses and doctors are to go into talks with Government officials in a bid to settle two disputes.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation are to re-enter talks with the HSE, Department of Health, and the Department of Public Expenditure today after receiving proposals on Friday. The dispute is centred around staffing levels as well as recruitment and retention.
It is understood that doctors are also to go into talks to address a dispute over a €3,000 accommodation allowance for non-consultant hospital doctors.
