As veteran delegates railed against the pay deal, the group most vulnerable in all this appear to have little interest in their union, writes SEAN FLYNN
THERE WAS plenty of cabaret as ASTI delegates debated the Croke Park pay deal yesterday.
Perhaps, “debate” is not the correct word. In stark contrast with the INTO a day earlier, few dissenting voices were heard as a long procession of speakers – about 30 in all – denounced the “dastardly deal”.
Star of the show, as ever at the ASTI conference, was Dublin delegate Bernard Lynch, a teacher at Marian College in Ballsbridge. Ictu, declared Lynch, was like Cheryl Cole’s hair before her L’Oreal contract: weak, limp and straw like.
Warming to his task, Lynch lambasted all and sundry, including the editor of The Irish Times. This was Rage against the Machine. The trade union establishment, po-faced commentators in the media and assorted gobshites all got a crack of his hurley.
At the end, the conference gave him a thunderous standing ovation. The next speaker drew more applause when he said the ASTI needed people like Bernard Lynch as general secretary or president; people who would fight the good fight.
After years of relative calm, ASTI again seems to be on the warpath, and it could again decide to act independently of Ictu. It is also moving in a different direction from the INTO which has backed the pay deal.
Surprisingly, there was little discussion yesterday of the next step: what happens when ASTI members reject the deal, as is now widely expected?
Fintan O’Mahony, a delegate from Waterford, was brave enough to mention the “s” word. “When are we going to strike? When are we going to strike?” he asked on several occasions. But there was little clarification on this matter.
Instead, the mood was one of congratulation as delegates applauded their own militancy. One said the ASTI was being transformed from a middle-class pressure group into a real trade union.
But one of the striking features of yesterday’s session was the age profile of delegates. Most were in their 40s and 50s. Retired teachers – who are a growing and increasingly significant group in the ASTI – were also very prominent. These members enjoy full voting rights at the ASTI conference in contrast to the INTO congress where only working teachers can register a vote.
The ASTI will shortly convene a special conference for younger teachers in a bid to get a younger generation active in the union. But young teachers – the group most vulnerable in the current economic crisis – appeared to have little interest in their union.
It would be fascinating to know what young ASTI members made of yesterday’s events.
On the top table yesterday, the ASTI general secretary, John White – who retires shortly – was clearly uncomfortable with the turn of events.
Early yesterday he warned members “must have full and comprehensive information on their options” when voting on whether to accept or reject the public service agreement.
He also urged delegates to consider the ramifications of all options.
“Acceptance would entail detailed negotiations of all of the elements,” he said. “Rejection could involve possible imposition of elements of the deal.”
He warned the current climate is one of “unrestrained attempts by the right wing to diminish the power of the unions to represent their members . . . trade unions must not allow themselves to be provoked into misguided and doomed actions,” he said.
“We have enough external enemies without having internal rancour and distrust . . . [we] must remain united and deal coherently with the reality we face.”