Teachers unions claim talks can avert strikes [Irish Examiner]
- Published: 09 March 2009
Source: Irish Examiner
STRIKE action by more than 60,000 teachers can be avoided if the Government restarts talks with the union movement, their leaders said at the weekend.
Following the announcement on Friday night that their members had voted for industrial action, leaders of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) and Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) stressed that it is not intended to disrupt education for their students.
INTO general secretary John Carr said any action will be organised in consultation with the other teacher unions and the broader trade union movement.
It is not intended to take unilateral action which would only serve to fragment the public service response. Clearly strike action will be a last resort and it could be avoided if Government reconvened social partnership and worked out an equitable national recovery plan for the next number of years, he said.
The union revealed yesterday that more than 60% of its 30,000 members voted on the question of industrial action over the last fortnight, a high participation rate. Of those, almost four-in-five backed industrial action, which may include up to two days of strike action.
The turnout in the ASTI postal vote was just under half its 18,000 members and 60% of them were in favour of action. A TUI spokesperson said the vote for industrial action was almost 70%, with two-thirds of its 13,800 members casting a ballot.
TUI general secretary Peter MacMenamin said the figures highlight the level of anger and outrage that began with the education cuts announced in last October's budget.
The unions estimate that the income levy announced in October and the public service pension levy put in place this month have meant teachers earning €40,000 have seen a 14% attack on their salaries.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael education spokesperson Brian Hayes said the number of students dropping out of school will increase because of the loss of 62 Home School Community Liaison teachers currently working with 93 primary and second level schools.
Mr Hayes said principals have complained that their loss will have a detrimental effect on efforts to keep children in school.
