The Minister for Education, Dr Woods, has said there are indications the ASTI would not reject the Labour Court package in the emphatic way their leaders did during the union's recent annual conference in Galway.
The union is expected to have a result from its ballot tomorrow. Speaking last night at the annual conference of the Joint Managerial Body, which represents managers of voluntary secondary schools, Dr Woods said that while he was "hopeful" teachers would accept the proposals, the expectation remained that they would not be carried.
He said ASTI delegates at their annual conference rejected the Labour Court proposals by three to one, but indications were that rank-and-file ASTI members would not vote "quite as strongly against the Labour Court clarifications". Dr Woods's comments echo the views of senior ASTI sources who expect a higher Yes vote than originally predicted. Many ASTI members who are not normally active in the union have voted this time, which has boosted the turnout.
Dr Woods said if the ASTI accepted the Labour Court proposals, it would be rewarded with a "significant and appropriate settlement". He also appealed to the ASTI to join discussions scheduled for next week on new supervision arrangements for schools.
These are expected to result in a payment for teachers, who currently provide the service on a voluntary basis. The ASTI is refusing to take part, although this may change. "I hope they may change their minds on that, but we'll just have to take one day at a time," said Dr Woods.
He assured the managers that he would urgently bridge the "substantial" gap in funding for voluntary secondary schools compared to other school types. Mr George O'Callaghan, general secretary of the Joint Managerial Body, responded: "By urgent we mean this year."
Mr O'Callaghan said the Department was expecting all schools to achieve the same goals, but voluntary secondary schools, traditionally run by religious orders, had to operate with "one hand tied behind their back" because of the lower funding they received. Earlier, the president of the Joint Managerial Body, Mgr James Cassin, told the conference that teachers had always been held in high esteem and deserved no less.
"The lessening of the profession in public perception is a matter of great concern," he said. "There is a danger that teaching will not attract the best into its ranks. Should this happen, our pupils and schools will suffer and it will not augur well for the future of the country."
He said teacher morale had been so low recently that school managers wanted to put on record their appreciation of teachers' work.
The public's poor perception of teachers is of serious concern to school managers who have warned that it may halt the flow of young people into the profession. Managers said that there were "high levels of frustration and disengagement" among many teachers.
The conference continues today.