Union promises action on pay and pensions [IrishExaminer]
- Published: 27 April 2011
A MAJOR effort to increase job opportunities for out-of-work teachers and restore equal pay and pensions for those starting their careers has been promised by the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO).
With dozens of recent graduates among delegates at the union’s annual congress, anger over the lack of work and the use of unqualified and retired teachers dominated debate.
A motion was backed proposing possible industrial action over the cuts to new entrants, and INTO executive member Brendan O’Sullivan questioned why newly qualified teachers should be bound by Croke Park conditions not to strike when they were not protected by it.
The reduction in their starting pay by almost 15% compared to those who started teaching before last January was part of the four-year national recovery plan last November, more than six months after the public service pay deal was shaped by unions and the former government.
