Dempsey threatens ASTI benchmarking payments

Education Minister Noel Dempsey has threatened to withhold benchmarking awards from the Association of Secondary Teachers if its members reject a deal on payment for supervision and substitution duties.

ASTI members are due to vote on the deal next month.

The proposals, agreed between the Government and other teaching unions, offer €38-per-hour for supervision and substitution duties.

The ASTI voted in favour of them last year, but the union's executive decided to call a new vote due to a dispute over the interpretation of sections of the plan.

Teachers represented by the TUI and INTO are currently working under the terms of the deal, but schools throughout Ireland still have some 2,000 temporary supervisors on their pay-rolls due to the ASTI's reluctance to agree.

Minister Dempsey has now decided to harden his stance, threatening to withhold the 13% benchmarking award from ASTI members if they do not support the Government's plans.

He has also threatened to put alternative arrangements in place on a permanent basis if the ASTI rejects the supervision and substitution proposals.