PAT CAHILL,
Sir, - In its recent pay campaign the ASTI was trying to show that the PPF would not deliver anything to the workers of this country. When one takes into account the real rate of inflation over the past two or three years, this programme actually delivered a real decrease to workers in Ireland.
What did ASTI members get when they decided to call off their strike and the exam ban of last year? Not only were they referred to as "terrorists", hardliners, etc., but they were penalised again in pay terms. All ASTI teachers were docked pay in the 12 weeks coming up to Christmas - a time when other workers were getting Christmas bonuses and presents from their employers. This shows what this Government thinks of teachers even though bodies such as the Labour Court and the Teachers' Arbitration Board have said the ASTI has a strong and sustainable case for a pay increase. All of this has taken place in a period of unprecedented boom.
Where has the ICTU been while all this was going on? Its status has never been higher in official circles; it is consulted on almost every aspect of Government policy; yet the growth of its influence is in inverse proportion to the share that workers gain from the national economy. On one of the ASTI strike days I was on a picket line outside Dáil Éireann. Most of the TDs and senators spoke and argued with us on the way in and out. One said to me: "We have no problem with a pay increase for teachers - after all we got one ourselves. Your problem is with the ICTU, and especially Des Geraghty and Senator Joe O'Toole who see themselves as the architects of the PPF and dare anybody criticise it."
Then there is the argument about benchmarking.If introduced, it will undermine the caring aspect of a teacher's work, prevent students from reaching their true potential in the broadest sense and lead to increased teacher demoralisation.
I believe the leadership of the TUI and the INTO are misguided in their present policy on benchmarking. They are adopting a short-term, utilitarian approach that is not in the best long-term interest of education. Benchmarking is likely to make the quantifiable parts of the job (number of report sheets filled out, etc.) take precedence over the non-quantifiable caring aspects, which would be seriously undervalued. All the social capital that teachers had built up over the years would disappear. - Yours, etc.,
PAT CAHILL,
BA, H. Dip. Ed., BL,
(ASTI Standing
Committee, Region 13),
Terenure,
Dublin 6w.