IRISH NATIONAL TEACHERS' ORGANISATION:INDUSTRIAL ACTION by teachers will achieve nothing when there is economic meltdown, some delegates at the INTO congress argued yesterday.
But other speakers said the proposed public service deal – negotiated between union leaders and employers – gave the Government carte blanche to “go after” teacher pensions and working conditions.
The rival claims were made during a robust debate on the proposed pay and reform agreement.
The conference rejected a motion calling for rejection of the deal – but only by a narrow margin. The emergency motion was defeated by just four votes – 308 to 304 – in a session held in private. The vote underlines the deep divisions among teaching unions about the deal.
Last week, the INTO executive recommended the deal’s acceptance by members in a forthcoming ballot. This recommendation will now go to members.
During the debate, Noreen Flynn (Central Executive Committee) said the economic crisis had made members fearful and despondent. They were looking for the kind of certainty which the pay deal provided. While the deal was by no means ideal, members had to face the fact that “we are working in a collapsed economy”.
The sole alternative, she said, was strike action but this would involve handing more money back to the Government, something members could ill afford.
Seán Ó hArgáin (Kilkenny) said members had to reflect on the ferocious public reaction to the industrial action at the passport office. As a Labour Party activist he wanted to see the back of this Government but members had to be realistic. The deal offered the promise of no further pay cuts until 2014, something which was particularly important to younger teachers. This, he said, should not be placed in jeopardy.
The INTO, he said, already had a mandate for three days of strike action. But he doubted if there was support for any stronger action. Many of our members are married to people who have lost jobs and who are not in a position to strike, he said.
Pat Crowe (Dublin West) said the proposed deal sounded the death knell for the public service pension. In agreeing to the deal, the union had agreed to revised pension arrangements. While negotiations were promised, there was no guarantee these would be successful, leaving the union with little alternative but to accept them. But Ms Flynn said nothing had been conceded on the pension issues and the union would be fighting with all the armour at its disposal – including industrial action – to fight any changes.
Gregor Kerr (Dublin) said there was no guarantee that pay would not be cut again, despite assurances in the deal. The agreement could change if there were unforeseen budgetary circumstances, a real possibility at the moment.
He told delegates that industrial action was not inevitable if the deal was voted down. At that stage, the union would take stock of the overall situation.
During a debate on a special motion on pensions, Noel Ward, deputy general secretary, said the new pension arrangements – outlined by the Government recently – would involve a pension cut of 35 per cent for new teachers.