THE MAIN secondary teachers’ union, the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI), has voted to enter talks with the Department of Education on the Croke Park deal – even though the agreement was rejected by members in a ballot earlier this year.
It has suspended industrial action due to begin next Monday, pending the outcome of the talks.
Last week, the Government said it was prepared to impose key features of the Croke Park deal – including possible changes to teaching contracts and working hours – unless the threat of action was lifted and talks began.
At the weekend, the ASTI’s 180-member executive voted to enter the talks on a “without prejudice” basis, while continuing to maintain their opposition to the Croke Park deal.
Union sources say the ASTI was left with “no option” but to enter the talks on the deal which has already been accepted by the wider public service movement and endorsed by INTO members.
Attention will now switch to a special delegate conference of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) on Saturday week. TUI members also voted against the Croke Park deal but the ASTI vote will put pressure on the TUI to enter talks – or face isolation on the deal.
In a statement, the ASTI reaffirmed its rejection of the Croke Park public service agreement. This asks teachers to work for an additional hour per week and holds out the prospect of other changes to the teaching contract.
To date, both the ASTI and the TUI have engaged in low-scale industrial action over the Croke Park deal. This includes bans on parent-teacher and planning meetings outside school hours.
ASTI general secretary Pat King said the outcome of the forthcoming talks with the department would be put to a ballot.
“Under-resourced schools are being further undermined by an increase in the pupil-teacher ratio and the freezing of middle management posts,” Mr King said.
“Teachers have taken pay cuts and a worsening of their working conditions. Young teachers have lost jobs or had their hours reduced.” He said the Croke Park agreement asked teachers to sign up to a review of their contracts without detailing what such a review would encompass.
“This is the context in which ASTI members rejected the Croke Park agreement and it is the context in which the [union] will engage in talks with the department.” Some 18,500 second-level teachers working in schools all over Ireland are represented by the union.
The TUI will hold a special delegate conference on September 25th. A newsletter sent to members last week said the options were stark – lift the industrial action and enter talks or face the imposition of changes.
Teachers are most exercised about the requirement to deliver an additional hour “a week at the discretion of management”, which would not be a teaching hour.
There are also fears that a revised contract could herald fundamental changes in working conditions. Under the Croke Park agreement, the Government has guaranteed that there will be no further pay cuts for public service staff and that compulsory redundancies will not be introduced at least until 2014. The deal also includes a mechanism for possibly reversing part or all of the pay cuts introduced over the last year or so.
