The three teaching unions have written to the Department of Education, demanding the immediate payment of a 10 per cent pay increase to 40,000 teachers, writes John Downes.
The joint initiative underlines the closer links between the unions, who together represent over 40,000 teachers. Relations had been strained during the ASTI dispute.
In a letter seen by The Irish Times, the unions claim that if teachers have fulfilled their obligations up to December 1st last, then payments should be due to them in January. This would seem to contradict claims by the Department that it cannot pay the January part of the increases because the issue of parent-teacher meetings has not yet been agreed.
Last week, two days of talks between the teaching unions, school management, and the Department ended without agreement, and the decision was taken to call in the public services arbitrator, Mr Gerard Durkan SC.
It is believed that during the meetings, a "compromise" formula was proposed, which would have seen meetings continue until 6.45 p.m. instead of 7.00 p.m.
It is also understood that the 6.45 p.m. cut-off point would mean teachers would still be obliged to see any parent who had arrived before 6.45 p.m., up until 7.30 p.m., a measure teaching unions found unacceptable. It is still unclear when the arbitration process might begin, with some sources estimating that the pay increases might not now be paid until the end of February at the earliest.
The letter is jointly signed by Mr John White, deputy general secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), Mr James Dorney, general secretary of the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI), and Mr John Carr, general secretary of the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO). They state that they have "in every respect honoured the terms of the Sustaining Progress agreement".
This is underlined, the letter says, by the fact that payment of the increase in January had already been signed off by the secretary general of the Department.
The education sector performance verification group had also authorised the payment of the same increase, it said.
"As you are aware, the parent/teacher meetings issues have been referred to arbitration ... In view of the public nature of the dispute now taking place in the media, it is imperative that this matter is clarified immediately," it states.
"In the event of there being any difficulty with confirming the payment of the January increase, we wish the matter referred to the conciliation council at the earliest possible date."
A Department spokesman last night refused to indicate what its response to the letter might be.
The Department had, he said, received the letter, and would be replying to it next week.