Teachers' union members vote to reject pay deal and call for industrial action
Members of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) have voted overwhelmingly to reject the Government’s latest pay deal.
They voted to reject the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 by a margin of 87% to 13% in a national ballot, with a turnout of 52%, the union confirmed tonight.
In a separate ballot, members also approved a campaign of industrial action, up to and including strike action, by a margin of 81% to 19% (turnout 52%),
However, in spite of the TUI emphatically rejecting the new public service pay deal tonight, it looks set to be passed comfortably by the wider trade union movement.
The public services committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) is due to meet next Monday to hold an overall ballot of the its union members. Each union at that ballot will be assigned a number of votes corresponding to its size and will place those votes according to the result of its individual ballot.
The total number of votes available in the ICTU ballot is just under 3,000, meaning 1,500 votes in favour would see the deal passed.
Siptu and Impact, the country's two largest public sector unions have already balloted in favour of the deal. Combined, their votes in the ballot total 1,325.
The Association Of Higher Civil and Public Servants was joined today by the Public Service Executive Union today in also voting in favour. That means the total votes in the ICTU ballot of unions who are supporting the deal now stands at in excess of 1,500, meaning the result would appear to be a foregone conclusion.
That is in spite of the fact that the results of other large unions such as the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and the Civil Public and Services Union are still not known.
Speaking about the TUI ballot, union president Joanne Irwin said: “Throughout the negotiations that led to this proposed agreement, TUI clearly and unambiguously identified the issue of pay equality for those appointed after January 1, 2011 as being of primary importance.
“It is morally wrong that two colleagues are placed on significantly different pay scales although carrying out the same work.
“This constitutes unacceptable discrimination against those employed after 1st January 2011.
“Furthermore, additional cuts to allowances in 2012 means that new entrant teachers have been subject to more severe cuts than other new entrants to the public service.”
