The president of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), Ed Byrne, has acknowledged that it is “unlikely” the union will secure an agreement in time to avert the indefinite closure of hundreds of schools following the midterm break.
Talks aimed at averting large-scale disruption are due to get under way early next week between the ASTI and the Department of Education.
The ASTI is planning to withdraw supervision and substitution cover from Monday, November 7th, which would force many schools to close on health and safety grounds.
However, there has been little sign of any progress on the union’s key grievances, which include pay rates for new entrants, additional working hours and junior cycle reform.
Department of Education negotiators are understood to be keen to ensure that any agreement with the ASTI will be a comprehensive one which embraces all these issues.
Mr Byrne told The Irish Times: "It's quite concerning that schools could close by Monday week . . . We would love to have a complete solution to all our problems by then. It's unlikely that will happen."
He said it was not the union’s intention to shut schools by withdrawing supervision cover and he put forward a “temporary proposal” to avert disruption. The ASTI president said he was “flying a kite” by suggesting that union members could be willing to work supervision duties in return for a concession on job security for young teachers.
A spokesman for Minister for Education Richard Bruton said it would not be appropriate to respond to an “informal personal suggestion”. Privately, sources said that any such proposal would not be taken seriously, on the basis that it would provide permanent benefits in return for a temporary agreement on supervision cover.
Mr Bruton once again put forward a formal proposal to the ASTI that its members would receive payment for supervision cover and other benefits if it agreed to work additional “Croke Park” hours on a temporary basis. Mr Byrne, however, said members were not willing to work these hours on the basis that a “temporary cessation would become a complete cessation”.
Schools, meanwhile, are due to reopen on Friday following the one-day ASTI strike over new entrant pay which saw more than 500 secondary schools close on Thursday. The union is demanding that the Government deliver a timetable for the full restoration of pay for new entrants.
Asked whether he supported the principle of equal pay for equal work, Mr Bruton said he did “in the abstract” and that everything the Government did was about equality.
March for equal pay
Thousands of members of the two other teaching unions gathered outside Leinster House on Thursday evening in a march to call for equal pay rates for new entrants. While the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) and the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) are not in dispute with the Government, they are demanding that further steps be taken to ensure there is full pay equality.
INTO general secretary Sheila Nunan said there must be faster pay restoration and called for " a road map to full pay restoration".
TUI president Joanne Irwin said the union's next step was to seek the restoration of further allowances and push for the reversal of a 10 per cent pay cut through the Public Service Pay Commission.
Meanwhile, members of the 2,000-strong Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors will begin a second day of limited industrial action on Friday. They will boycott the Garda IT system and refuse to carry out some administrative duties.
The association said its negotiators were currently in talks with Government officials, but no agreement had been reached. It said that, as a result, the planned industrial action would take place as scheduled.
The executive of the Garda Representative Association met on Thursday to consider recent contacts with the Government, but no statement was issued afterwards. It is to hold further talks with the Department of Justice on Friday.
