Teachers warn of further action after Thursday’s strike

Teacher unions are warning of further industrial action if Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan does not further water down junior cycle reforms following tomorrow’s strike.

More than 730 secondary schools are to close tomorrow, affecting more than 333,000 students and disrupting plans for their parents and guardians.

It is the second one-day strike being held by the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) and the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) which together represent 27,000 post-primary teachers.

The unions have defended their decision to strike without balloting on Ms O’Sullivan’s revised plan, which would see teachers assessing just 40 per cent of marks in the new Junior Cycle Student Award.

Instead the unions balloted on the plan put forward by her predecessor Ruairi Quinn which contained 100 per cent school-based assessment.

The ASTI reiterated its view that the “difference is not significant enough for us to go back to retake the ballot”.

The union’s members had voted on industrial action over a number of concerns, including school-based assessment and lack of resources, and “nothing has changed” on those key issues, an ASTI spokeswoman said.

Both unions have said further industrial action would be considered following tomorrow’s strike, and noted this decision could be taken by executive committees without a further ballot of members.

The ASTI’s central executive committee is holding a routine meeting on Saturday and its dispute strategy is likely to be discussed.

Ms O’Sullivan said it was “regrettable that the unions have decided to ignore the compromise available”. Urging them to respond positively to her revised proposal, she said “progress needs both sides to be willing to move on previously held positions”.

The Minister has also rejected suggestions that her reform plan had its genesis in a cost-saving proposal considered by the previous government to scrap the Junior Cert.

Declassified cabinet papers showed that the Fianna Fail-led coalition discussed axing the Junior Cert in Budget 2009 in order to save €24 million a year. As reported by The Irish Times, the proposal was amended for Budget 2010 to replacing the exam with a certificate that would be assessed by teachers at a cost saving of €15 million.

Speaking in the Dáil on Tuesday night during a topic debate on the junior cycle reforms, Ms O’Sullivan described the issue as “a red herring”.

She noted the proposal to scrap the Junior Cert had been rejected by the former government at that time, adding: “My proposals for Junior Cycle reform are not the proposals on abolition which were put forward in the past. Savings have not been realised to date and there is no expectation that the new proposals will deliver savings.

“In fact the reform will cost an additional €9.3m in 2015, and I have repeatedly stated that I will secure the resources which are necessary to support this reform into the future.

“The reform of the Junior Cycle is about changing and providing a quality teaching and learning experience for our students. It is not a cost saving exercise.”

Sinn Féin had moved a private members motion seeking the implementation of Ms O’Sullivan’s plan to be postponed. Its spokesman on education Jonathan O’Brien said “education policy should not be based on cherry-picking what is the cheapest option”.

But Fianna Fáil education spokesman Charlie McConalogue said Sinn Féin had supported Mr Quinn's plan to abolish Junior Cert exams at the time, and the party's motion did not move away from that position.

Both opposition spokesman agreed, however, that the Minister should make further concessions to the unions. Like Mr Quinn, Ms O’Sullivan had made a “take it or leave it” offer to the unions, McConalogue claimed.