Call for Ictu to end Government talks

TUI CONFERENCE:DELEGATES AT the TUI conference yesterday unanimously backed a proposal calling on the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) to immediately end talks with the Government and campaign against the attacks on workers' living standards resulting from Budget proposals.

The motion was proposed by Finbar Geaney of Dublin City Post Primary who said Ictu had no mandate to discuss anything with the Government and should instead build a campaign against the cuts following a special congress to allow discussion and debate.

Supporting the motion, Tom Dooley from Dundalk IT called on the union’s executive to initiate discussions with other union executives and he paid tribute to the CPSU for organising a day of action in protest at how the cuts were affecting its members.

Delegate anger at the Government levies and other cutbacks was also evident in the thunderous reception given to TUI president Don Ryan when he delivered a hard-hitting response to Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe’s address to congress.

In contrast to the frosty reception that greeted Mr O’Keeffe, Mr Ryan was cheered repeatedly and received several standing ovations as he proceeded to attack the Government over its approach to education at a time of budgetary constraints.

Mr Ryan said that he had spent four decades listening to ministers’ speeches at annual conferences and even in good economic times, they amounted to very little, but Mr O’Keeffe’s defence of cutbacks in education carried little credibility.

“On this occasion, I listened very carefully to your explanation for your actions but it is clearly of ‘the dog ate my homework variety’,” said Mr Ryan as delegates packing the conference venue rose from their seats to applaud enthusiastically.

Mr Ryan said that Mr O’Keeffe was spending millions of euro of taxpayers’ money on various commissions, investigations and evaluation but his department never implemented the findings of any report that recommended investment in education.

Mr Ryan also told delegates that they should not be “fooled” by Mr O’Keeffe’s assertion that an increase in the capitation grant of €14 per student would give more discretion to schools when in reality schools were suffering a reduction in funding.

“For example, a school of 455 students on the northeast coast serving a rural and urban catchment area will gain €6,370.

“ However, a TUI survey shows that it will lose up to €24,000 and up to 1.5 teachers. The net loss to the school, excluding teachers, is €17,630,” he said.

Mr Ryan urged Mr O’Keeffe to restore the book grant for needy families, remove the pension levy and replace it with an equitable tax.

He also urged the removal of the embargo on filling essential management posts and removal as well of the cap on post-Leaving Cert courses.

The reduction in teachers would lead to larger class sizes. For classes that included disruptive children, children with special needs, Traveller children and newcomer children, any additional children would severely damage teaching and learning, Mr Ryan said.

He added that Mr O’Keeffe had added “insult to injury” by getting involved with attempts to discredit teachers by understating the extent of losses in second level schools and by releasing inaccurate and misleading information about teachers’ sick leave.

“This attempt at undermining honest and hard-working teachers was rejected for what it was – a futile effort to deflect attention from the indiscriminate and regressive cutbacks your Government introduced,” he said.

“And of course Minister, your Government shows no willingness to deal with the real culprits – the banking system, the speculators, the developers, the tax cheats, the tax dodgers and the tax exiles who have brought this country to its knees.

“Your Government stands over a system which rewards failure and ineptitude with big exit packages and bonuses and fails to bring these culprits to task.

“ Is it any wonder, Minister, that my members are seething with anger,” Mr Ryan declared to another standing ovation.