Secondary teachers are being asked if they want to suspend their 30 per cent pay campaign and abandon their long-held opposition to the Government's benchmarking pay review in a union survey.
The option is among over a dozen being put before the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland's 17,000 members, starting this week. Members are asked to say Yes or No to the various options.
Others options being put to them include:
presenting the ASTI's Labour Court submission to the benchmarking body;
renewal of three-day strikes;
all-out industrial action.
The fact that benchmarking is even under consideration is regarded as a climbdown by several hardliners in the union. The content of the survey was agreed by the union's 23-member standing committee on Friday.
One member said last night: "I was very surprised the reference to benchmarking was still in the survey. It is an acknowledgement of the way things have gone."
ASTI sources say there is little possibility of members supporting a return to hardline industrial action. The ASTI closed schools for a dozen days last year and it threatened the exams, but this failed to draw any concessions from the Government.
In another development, the ASTI is expected to open talks with the Department of Education later this week on the issue of supervision and substitution.
The ASTI has voted by 55 to 45 to withdraw this service from schools, but this move is deferred for three weeks. In another sign of internal tensions within the union, it will this week start an investigation into a dispute between a leading member, Mr Bernard Lynch and the union's leadership.
Mr Lynch was effectively excluded from a standing committee late last week. He is expected to take legal action. Mr Lynch has been an outspoken critic of ASTI leaders, such as general secretary Mr Charlie Lennon.