A new push to create one union for 25,000 secondary teachers is under way after the failure of the ASTI pay campaign.
Members of the union are seeking support for a merger between the 17,000-member ASTI and the 12,000-member TUI. An amalgamation, they say, would create the fourth-largest union in the State and could become a reality "within the next year or two".
Significantly, the move to build greater teacher unity has been welcomed by the leaders of all three teaching unions - the ASTI, the TUI and the INTO.
In a letter circulated to a meeting late last week of the ASTI executive, members of the Monaghan branch say the current division at second-level between the ASTI and the TUI has made it more difficult to better working conditions and pay. " We need one strong united union. The recent campaign for a pay rise has taught us this lesson."
The ASTI general secretary, Mr Charlie Lennon, said last night he would look positively on any proposal from ASTI members seeking to build greater unity with the TUI and also the INTO. "As all teachers were working to a common salary scale, many members believe it would make good sense for us all to develop much closer links," he said.
Mr Jim Dorney, general secretary of the TUI, said he would be happy to look at any merger proposal in the right circumstances.
In 1994, talks on a possible merger between the ASTI and the TUI achieved considerable progress, but the initiative eventually petered out because of some minor local difficulties.
Mr John Carr, general secretary of the INTO, said his union would also look positively on any proposals for teacher unity. It was not, he said, in the interests of teachers to be divided.
The ASTI dispute highlighted the problem facing a divided teaching sector. The union found itself isolated from the INTO and the TUI, which both supported the benchmarking pay review. The ASTI - alone among the teacher unions - also left the Irish Congress of Trade Unions .
Last week, ASTI members signalled the end of their three-year pay campaign by voting for the new supervision arrangements. Any move to rejoin congress would require the support of the 180-member ASTI central executive committee.
The Monaghan branch says an ASTI/TUI merger would bring several benefits including:
- Greater strength to influence the political process and to mount industrial action.
- Better services for members.
- A stronger financial position.
- More unity so "management, Government or the media could not exploit differences between unions".
The Monaghan members - who include ASTI executive member, Mr Kevin McEneany - ask other ASTI branches to explore the benefits of a possible merger. They want a position paper on the issue to be ready by next year's annual convention.