Teacher unions warn of industrial action [Irish Examiner]
- Published: 17 February 2009
Source: Irish Examiner
By: Niall Murray
UNIONS representing more than 60,000 teachers have warned of the serious possibility of industrial action if the Government does not negotiate with them, and others representing public servants, about the controversial pension levy it plans to introduce.
Three of the four teacher unions decided last week to ballot their members on industrial action in protest at the Government's planned levy on the pensions of civil and public servants.
The results of the votes among the 60,000-plus members of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) and Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI), are expected by the weekend of Friday, March 6. Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) general secretary Mike Jennings said the executive of the union, which has around 2,000 members, will consider its position this weekend.
Following a meeting of the general secretaries and presidents of all four unions yesterday, they urged as many members as possible to attend Saturday's protest in Dublin, organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU).
"Nobody wants to rush into any form of industrial action, which is always an issue of last resort. The ball is in the Government's court, the Government has the option to respond positively. If they do not, then other measures will follow," a spokesperson for the union leaders said.
He said the union leaders have been hearing from members that what has happened to date has been one sided and ill-thought out and that teachers and other public servants feel they have been singled out.
As well as the three teacher unions, the Civil and Public Service Union (CPSU) and Public Service Executive Union (PSEU) are also balloting members on possible industrial action in response to the public service pension levy, and the possibility of a similar ballot will be considered by the executive of IMPACT trade union today.
The teacher unions said that ICTU's 10-point plan to tackle the economic crisis could be used as a guide to resolving the pension levy issue and other problems facing the country.
"There is nobody, least of all in the trade union movement, in denial about the scale of the economic crisis facing this country but we can only solve it if we work together. The only thing that will work is to get around the table, discuss the issues, hopefully using the 10-point programme as a guide, and achieve an overall solution," the spokesperson said.
