The Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) is saying no to the public service reform deal, its general secretary said today.
"My executive met yesterday and they unanimously have decided that this deal is unacceptable and that recommendation will be put to the annual conference of the union which takes place next week," Peter MacMenamin told RTÉ's Morning Ireland this morning.
Mr MacMenamin said it remained to be seen what the other unions would do, adding “I’m not going to look into the future and see what happens. There are other unions who are going to make decisions in regard to this deal”.
Meanwhile, the executive of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) voted to recommend acceptance of the deal in a ballot of its 30,000 members after Easter.
The INTO said its executive backed the deal after detailed consideration of the terms of the draft agreement.
It said the executive would engage widely with members through INTO structures, including information meetings, in advance of the ballot. The agreement will also be discussed at the INTO annual congress next week.
ASTI is likely to ballot its 18,000 members on the deal, according to general secretary John White yesterday.
The new deal will be considered by ASTI’s 180-member central executive late next week. The executive can only reject the deal with a two-thirds majority.
It is expected the new deal will be put to a ballot next month without a recommendation from the ASTI leadership.
While the new public service deal holds out the possibility of reversing pay cuts, it has also raised concerns among rank-and-file teachers.
Under its terms, teachers will have to work an additional hour per week. The new deal also commits the unions to a review of teaching contracts – to be finalised before September.
This will “identify and remove any impediments to the provision of efficient and effective teaching to students in all sectors”.
From the start of the next school year all teachers must be available for an additional hour per week to facilitate, at the discretion of management, school planning, continuous professional development, induction and substitution and supervision, including supervision immediately before and after school times.
From September, second-level teachers must also be available for three timetabled class periods per week under the supervision and substitution scheme.