Teachers could lose out on payments if they reject Lansdowne Road deal

Second-level teachers could lose out on thousands of euro in incremental pay rises and lump sum payments if their trade unions walk away from the new Lansdowne Road agreement.

Financial emergency legislation published yesterday would enable the Government to pay – and by extension to withhold – payments of nearly €1,600 to each teacher for supervision and substitution duties. The payments are due to be introduced in two phases from September next year.

The new Bill would also provide for members of unions that repudiate collective agreements such as the recent Lansdowne Road accord to lose out on incremental rises as they move up the pay scale until July 2018. These can range from several hundred euro to more than €2,000 in some cases depending on where an employee is on the scale.

Teaching unions ASTI and TUI are expected to announce the results of ballots of members on the Lansdowne Road deal next week. Both organisations have urged members to reject the accord.

The public service committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) last month formally approved the Lansdowne Road agreement, which will see most public servants receive rises of €2,000 by the end of 2017, following ballots of affiliated unions.

Majority decision

However, the TUI has said that if its members reject the deal, it would not be bound by the majority decision of the public service committee on the issue.

The ASTI has not made a decision on whether it would be bound by the Ictu vote if its members oppose the accord.

The new financial emergency legislation, published yesterday by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin, will allow the Government to give rises in pay and pensions to about 500,000 State employees and retired staff as set out in the terms of the Lansdowne Road deal.

The legislation also allows for a mechanism to allow recently appointed judges, who had their pay rates reduced by 10 per cent compared to their counterparts who were appointed in earlier years, to secure pay parity over time.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform said this was the equivalent of the arrangements made for other newly appointed public servants, "for whom arrangements were made to achieve pay parity in accordance with the Haddington Road Agreement". Mr Howlin described the pay restoration arrangements as phased and careful and said they focused on the low paid.