ANALYSIS:While other teachers' unions contemplate industrial action, the ASTI is holding fire
ANYONE WAKING up to yesterday's newspaper headlines or turning on their radio or television was met with a pretty stark message: Ireland's teachers are preparing to go to battle with the Government.
Indeed, talk of industrial action over issues such as class size and school discipline has so far dominated the INTO conference in Kilkenny and the TUI conference in Wexford.
Yet, amid all the threats and warnings of strikes, the teachers union that has been most bellicose in recent years has been noticeably quiet.
Other unions may be threatening industrial action, but the State's largest representative body for second-level teachers, the ASTI, with over 17,000 members, is holding fire. For now.
This is not to say that it is ignoring the issues that have prompted concern among the other unions.
One of the most striking features of this week's conference has been, however, that it is subtly adopting a different approach.
On Tuesday, delegates at the INTO conference in Kilkenny voted unanimously for its executive to take whatever action is necessary, up to and including industrial action, to ensure Government commitments on class sizes are honoured.
This could lead to a series of one-day stoppages, prompting Minister for Education Mary Hanafin to warn that the action could jeopardise teachers' pay increases.
For its part, Tuesday's ASTI conference also unanimously passed its own motion on class size at second level. This stated: "That the ASTI establishes a policy of maximum class size of 20 for all subjects." But there was no mention of industrial action in pursuit of this objective.
Similarly, TUI members are to be balloted on industrial action over a lack of discipline in schools, following a vote by delegates at its Wexford conference to support a one-day strike should the issue not be addressed immediately.
Again, ASTI members also passionately discussed the issue of school discipline. But there was no mention of a strike in the accompanying motion.
So what does this all mean? When he was asked by The Irish Times whether the union was willing to contemplate industrial action on issues of concern, John White, general secretary of the union, gave the following response.
"We support our colleagues in the other unions. The ASTI has never been found wanting in addressing the interests of teachers."
Other senior members within the ASTI say, off the record, that there is little appetite among delegates for a new campaign, although there is little doubt that, as White seemed to indicate, they will not shirk from one if necessary.
But there was a palpable feeling that industrial action will only be contemplated as a "last resort." Another delegate confided that members are still bruised by the level of vitriol directed at the ASTI's membership over its high-profile campaign of industrial action at the turn of the century.
This is not to say that everyone in the union feels this way about industrial action. Indeed, it was by no means unheard of for delegates at this week's slickly run conference to call for the union to engage in such action.
But this was not reflected in the wording of the priority motions on issues such as teachers' pay and conditions, class size, pensions, school discipline and parent-teacher meetings.
Instead, much of the emphasis was on negotiation.
It was also notable that Minister for Education Mary Hanafin received a warmer reception from the ASTI delegates on Tuesday than she had done from their INTO counterparts, who whistled and jeered her earlier in the day.
As another senior delegate summed up the ASTI's approach: "You get more by doing it our way."
As the ASTI prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary next year, this could turn out to be a watershed moment in its somewhat chequered recent history.