INTO says pay cuts are not on the agenda [INTO]
- Published: 19 January 2009
Source: INTO
By: John Carr
The INTO said today that pay cuts for primary teachers were not on the union agenda in forthcoming social partnership talks with government.
John Carr, General Secretary of the INTO, said the union was not prepared to discuss pay cuts and would strongly resist any attempt to target teachers for pay cuts.
"Primary teachers didn't cause the national reversal of fortunes," said Carr. "Contrary to what some commentators would have people believe, there is no bloated public service when it comes to teaching."
He said the opposite was true and that Irish primary teachers are among the most productive in the world teaching more children for longer than in most other countries. "Ireland's literacy rates are among the highest in the world," said Carr.
"The fact that eighty percent of education spending goes on salaries reflects low education spending not high salaries," said Carr. "Teachers here may well earn more than teachers in other countries but not when the cost of living is factored into the equation."
He said attacking the pay and pensions of teachers was not an option that the union would even consider. "Increases granted to primary teachers in recent years have been hard won through increased productivity and nothing on the scale of the self-awarded increases taken by the elite in this country," said Carr.
INTO Statement on Anglo Bailout [INTO]
- Published: 19 January 2009
Anglo Irish Bank Bailout 16/1/9 [INTO]
Source: INTO Website
Statement by John Carr, INTO General Secretary, on Anglo Irish Bank bailout
16th January 2009
Untold billions for banks while vital funding cut from primary schools.
The INTO said today that the government's decision to take Anglo Irish Bank into public ownership at an unknown cost and risk had to be seen against savage budget cutbacks on primary education and threatened cuts to teachers' pay and pensions.
The union's general secretary John Carr said the bailout would stiffen the resolve of public sector workers to resist being scapegoated in forthcoming national partnership talks. He said it would also mean opposition to the education cutbacks would continue.
"For months, teachers and parents listened to the Minister for Education and Science defending cutbacks in education," said Carr. He said last year schools were told by the Minister the public finances were so bad that teaching jobs had to be axed, books had to be taken from poor children and computers couldn't be bought for schools.
"Now his government with the stroke of a pen can find billions to bail out a failed bank. Some of this bail out money is education funding that the Education Minister took out of cash-strapped primary schools," said Carr.
According to Carr, the potential savings to government from the education cutbacks were in the region of 70 million euro. "That is less than the secret loan of more than 80 million held by one director of Anglo Irish Bank." Mr Carr said the penny pinching of the government when it came to funding primary education stood in stark contrast to the "largesse available to the golden circle".
He said the public will not forget the ease with which Anglo Irish Bank was bailed out with tax payers' money compared to dogged government opposition to protests against the education cuts. "People are not fools," he said. "They will not accept that special needs children, Travellers and children with no English will have to pay the price for bank bail outs."
"Neither will hardworking public servants like teachers accept one law for a rich and powerful elite and another for everyone else," said Carr. "Those on modest incomes will not accept pay cuts and attacks on their pensions to pick up the tab for banks that were little more than badly run casinos."
Dept of Education defends handling of abuse cases [Sunday Post]
- Published: 18 January 2009
Source: Sunday Business Post
By: Martha Kearns
The Department of Education and Science has defended its handling of cases in which teachers are accused of child abuse. It was responding to claims from the three main teaching unions that allegations of abuse against teachers were being passed onto the Health Service Executive (HSE) directly without the individual teachers being informed.
The unions had said that the first some teachers knew about allegations was when they were ''confronted'' by HSE staff. However, a department spokesman told The Sunday Business Post that it informed the schools of any allegations of abuse at the same time that it told the HSE.
He said that, under child protection guidelines, details of allegations of abuse received were referred to the school authorities, which were requested to confirm that the matter was being handled in accordance with prescribed guidelines and procedures.
''At the same time, the matter is brought to the attention of the HSE, which is advised that details of the allegation have been forwarded to the school for urgent attention," said the spokesman.
He said that the primary statutory responsibility for child protection lay with the HSE and ''it is not the role of the department to investigate allegations of abuse''.
''The role of the department is to provide guidance and support to schools in implementing child protection policy and to refer any allegations to the appropriate authorities."
Crisis-hit university chiefs demand the return of fees [Irish Independant]
- Published: 16 January 2009
Friday January 16 2009
Three university presidents yesterday stepped up their campaign for the early return of tuition fees.
And one warned that unless fees for all were reintroduced, Irish universities would face a "disaster" within two years.
The warning from the presidents of Trinity College, Dublin City University and University College Cork came as some colleges sank deeper into debt amid fears of further cuts before the end of the year. The president of University College Cork, Dr Michael Murphy, said everyone was on the frontline, with neither students nor academic staff immune to cutbacks.
"I have not seen anything like it," he said. "There are no rules for coping with this financial situation. In November we estimated a shortfall of €11.5m.
"Then it was €12m and now the bursar has told me we are a further €4m down."
The UCC president was adamant that fees would have to be brought back to cope with the crisis.
So too was Dublin City University president Prof Ferdinand von Prondzynksi, who said he was opposed to the idea of having fees only for those above a certain financial threshold.
Income
He said the figure of €100,000 had been mentioned but questioned why a student whose family income was €101,000 should pay fees while one whose family earned €99,000 should be exempt.
In his view everybody should pay fees and the universities should be charged with ensuring that those qualified students who were accepted, but who could not pay, would be accommodated and that certain percentages of various socio-economic income groups be represented in college.
The DCU president said universities had lost 30pc of their income per student in real terms. At present trends a further 12pc would be lost over the next two years. But if further cuts were imposed, this could rise to 30pc which would be disastrous for the universities. The universities were able to "cushion" some of the worst impacts by attracting international students who paid fees.
But overseas students would be reluctant to come to universities where the infrastructure was falling into disrepair.
Prof von Prondzynksi was speaking at debate in Trinity College Dublin.
Labour education spokesperson Ruairi Quinn and Union of Students in Ireland education officer Bartley Rock came out strongly against the return of fees, arguing that the country had benefited from the abolition more than a decade ago.
- John Walshe Education Editor
Teacher unions to oppose cuts in salaries [Irish Times]
- Published: 15 January 2009
Source: Irish Times
By: SEÁN FLYNN, Education Editor
THE THREE teacher unions, representing over 50,000 teachers, moved yesterday to oppose any pay cuts. However, the unions say they expect the Government to press ahead with a minimum 5 per cent pay cut ; or a lengthy pay freeze. One senior trade unionist said he could envisage an effective pay freeze for teachers until 2011.
There has been speculation that teacher unions might be prepared to accept pay cuts or a pay freeze in return for measures which protect the education sector and target the rich.
But there was no sign of any such compromise yesterday. The Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) executive, which meets today is expected to strongly oppose any proposed pay cuts. Teachers are subject to an 11-month pay pause as part of the latest national pay agreement. Under the deal, they are due to receive a 3.5 per cent pay increase in September and a further 2.5 per cent in June 2010.
But there is growing concern among teaching unions that the Government could move to impose a pay freeze. Teachers' Union of Ireland general secretary Peter MacMenamin last night said his union will not countenance any deferral of negotiated pay rises, any worsening of pension provision or pay cuts. "The public sector was not the cause of the current crisis and cannot assume the role of 'whipping boy' in the recovery process," he said.
ASTI general secretary John White said pay cuts are not an option. Irish National Teachers' Organisation general secretary John Carr said teachers recognised the need for action to aid national recovery but warned that attempts to impose pay cuts on teachers and other public servants would be resisted by all necessary means.
