As teachers lose out on limelight, prospects of victory fade

With over 600 schools closing their gates for another day and thousands of pupils losing valuable time in class, one would think…

With over 600 schools closing their gates for another day and thousands of pupils losing valuable time in class, one would think the teachers' dispute would dominate the political and media agenda.

But already the campaign by the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) is slipping down the news bulletins and the Government appears to have its hands full with an even more vociferous group - taxi-drivers.

With certain school boards of management prepared to bypass their dispute and the Government bogged down in Budget preparations, ASTI is finding it increasingly hard to monopolise the public agenda.

While its 30 per cent pay claim has received generous publicity, the union is increasingly having to share the airwaves with taxi-drivers and workers from Aer Lingus, Iarnrod Eireann, Ryanair and, of course, other teacher unions.

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The gloom was increased yesterday when ASTI members were told their final pay cheque before Christmas (on December 21st) would be minus eight days' pay. The Department of Education has confirmed it is taking this step; ASTI has threatened to stop it in the courts.

The decision means that unless the dispute ends shortly, teachers are facing a despondent new year with financial hardship and difficult choices ahead. The basis of ASTI's action is to debilitate the education system (albeit for a short time) and bring pressure to bear on the Government.

But this strategy is only feasible if the politicians pay attention and if the ASTI dispute occurs in splendid isolation.

With three days of action over, the Government shows little sign of surrendering to its 16,000 members.

The chance of dramatic Government intervention before Christmas is, at best, slight. This means ASTI is increasingly having to ask itself - is our action working?

Next week the union will begin consulting its local branches on this issue and the union's general secretary, Mr Charlie Lennon, says it will give a reasonable indication of morale.

As early as tomorrow week, the union will have to consider its next step. By then its six days of supervision withdrawal will be over and a national strike on December 5th will be its final chance to break the Government.

Its standing committee is expected to convene that Friday to discuss the future of the campaign.

The e-word is likely to surface during the talks: stopping the exams is the one lethal weapon in ASTI's arsenal, with the potential to break the Government. But will the union use it?

At the moment the union will only state that things have not progressed to this stage. But some of its most militant members are prepared to support a withdrawal from the exams and point to 1964 when the Government was forced to get graduates to mark exam papers when teachers refused.

Many of them also believe that disabling the exam system might not be necessary. More effective is the threat to disable it. "We should keep the Government on its toes by pointing out that we are prepared to go that far," said one ASTI member.

While certain leading members may be able to take such an unpopular plunge, a question mark still hangs over whether ordinary ASTI members, who have prepared students for their Junior and Leaving certificates, would.

Another possible solution is to get involved in the new benchmarking body, although ASTI remains unconvinced of its potential.

Nevertheless, the admission by Mr Lennon that ASTI would consider an invitation from the body suggests a possible opening down the line. But, he stresses, the body at the moment is "useless" and needs to be radically transformed.