The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, spoke for the vast majority of people when, writing in this newspaper yesterday, he questioned why the ASTI strike is continuing. His sturdy defence of the Government's position in the dispute appeared reasonable and measured. Mr Ahern detailed the substantial pay increases available to teachers under the PPF and potentially under the benchmarking pay review body. He pointed out that the other teaching unions - the INTO and the TUI - are pursuing their case without recourse to strike action. Starkly, he suggested the dispute may "partly be about a power struggle within the ASTI". Referring to recent comments by the former ASTI president, Ms Bernadine O'Sullivan, in which she said the union was on a crusade, Mr Ahern asked : "Against whom is this crusade being conducted?" He suggested it may be a crusade against the Government and the whole partnership process.
Many will have been surprised by the forceful nature of Mr Ahern's comment. As a former Minister for Labour, Mr Ahern earned a considerable reputation as a behind-the-scenes fixer. By instinct, he favours compromise over confrontation. The ASTI dispute, however, has left the Government with little choice but to adopt a tough stance. Having spent months shoring up the PPF, the Government has no alternative but to protect the social partnership model. It does, of course, have an obligation to maintain high morale in the teaching service. But it must also look to the wider needs of the whole economy.
Any capitulation by the Government to the ASTI would spell the end of the kind of social partnership which has kept this economy in good stead. This is too high a price to pay in order to placate just one of the three teaching unions. Some 35,000 teachers in the other teaching unions, and virtually the entire public service, has chosen a different way. Their rights must also be respected. The immediate challenge is to sort out the docking of pay issue - the Government unwisely docked pay in relation to work-to-rule days. This would help revive the peace process led by Mr Tom Pomphrett of the Labour Relations Commission. In his article, the Taoiseach restated the Pomphrett proposal that the money could be refunded without prejudice to the position of both sides. It may be that some careful nuancing of this position might open the door for compromise. The ASTI needs to look to the bigger picture. Schools are closed again this week, essentially because teachers were docked about £350. Even allowing for any injustice in what was done, the damage being imposed on students - especially those facing exams - is now out of all proportion to the actual grievance. When it meets on Friday, the ASTI executive needs to take a cold, hard look at its strategy. Public support is draining away. The status of the teaching profession is being damaged. Students and their parents are unsettled. There must be a better way.