School groups reject deal

At a meeting of the Teachers Conciliation Council yesterday the two second level manage meat bodies, the Joint Managerial Body and the Irish Vocational Education Association, refused to implement the latest version of the Programme for Competitiveness and Work because of dissatisfaction with lack of progress in making teacher promotions through merit. All three teacher unions supported the package, as did the primary managers. The PCW package will now go to the Minister for Education, Ms Breathnach, with the teacher unions pressing her to implement it.