Talks on the structure of future benchmarking pay rises for more than 50,000 teachers were in disarray last night after a row between the two second-level unions, the ASTI and the TUI, and the union representing primary teachers, the INTO. The INTO walked out of a meeting between all three unions.
At an earlier separate meeting, the unions and the Department of Education also failed to agree on how benchmarking payments should be structured.
The INTO walked out after it learned that the executives of the two second-level teacher unions were due to meet tomorrow, without the INTO - although the three unions had agreed to adopt a united position on the issue.
This has prompted speculation that if the row remains unresolved, the INTO might adopt a separate negotiating position on pay claims for its members, rather than doing so with the second-level unions.
The talks, which took place yesterday under the conciliation and arbitration scheme, aim to establish which groups of teachers - such as school principals, those with posts of special responsibility, and ordinary classroom teachers - should have their pay rises linked.
The level of pay rises, if any, is yet to be decided by the public services benchmarking body.
The department had previously proposed three grades. Under this arrangement deputy principals would get the same pay rises as principals, while teachers with special duties and posts of responsibility would get the same pay rises as assistant principals. A third group, comprising ordinary classroom teachers, would get pay rises separate to these other two groups.
While the INTO was happy with this arrangement, the ASTI and TUI preferred a proposal for only two grades to be benchmarked together.
This would see principals and others, such as those with posts of responsibility, linked, while ordinary classroom teachers would obtain separate pay rises. Following discussions, the INTO supported this second proposal.
But at yesterday's meeting, the department rejected this proposal, claiming it would consider either the three grades option or a five grades option which operated under the previous round of benchmarking.
The INTO general secretary John Carr said his union's representatives had decided to walk out after they had learned of the "secret" meeting of the TUI and ASTI executives. The INTO would continue to look for parity of allowances between primary heads and their second-level colleagues, he added.
"The last issue is unfinished business from the first benchmarking deal. The importance of school leadership at primary level must be reflected in salaries and allowances."