Teachers' unions divided on pay-and-reform deal
Teaching unions were split down the middle tonight over the proposed public sector pay deal.
Members of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) will be encouraged to agree to the package after a narrow vote at its annual conference.
By a majority of just four, delegates in Galway opted to support their executive’s call to ballot members with a recommendation for acceptance.
Meanwhile the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has decided to urge the 15,000 staff it represents to reject the pay and reform deal, brokered last week in Croke Park after a fortnight of intense talks.
TUI chiefs at the annual conference in Ennis, Co Clare, vowed to conduct a vigorous campaign to see the package rejected.
“There’s a lot of anger at the situation and the deal and the various cutbacks over the last 18 months,” a spokesman said.
“There was very strong feeling expressed by the executive committee last week so it was no surprise that the feeling was exactly the same today.”
Members of the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) will debate the pay-and-reform proposals in Galway tomorrow.
Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, in her first major speech as Education Minister, welcomed the proposed pay-and-reform package and told INTO delegates to be wary of a split between the public and private sectors.
“Social cohesion must be maintained and we have to actively guard as a country against the creation of dangerous divisions,” she added.
“These unhelpful divisions can damage our shared sense of purpose and solidarity. I am sure that is a perspective shared by your Congress.”
Facing some heckles and booing, Ms Coughlan warned union members of further painful cuts.
“Believe me when I say that having to commit so much capital to our banking system at a time when we have to cut spending across Government is something that angers me greatly, just as it does you,” she said.
“The most frustrating fact for all of us at this point is that, despite the difficult choices of the past year, which were taken to place ourselves on the correct path, we are still not yet out of the woods.
“We have more to do to fully stabilise our public finances.”
