Why is the ASTI taking its industrial action?
Because its members want a flat 30 per cent pay increase across all teaching grades. They say the increase covers the year 2000 but they might apply for more next year. They claim the rise is needed so graduates will continue to enter the profession, so teachers can catch up with other groups, to compensate for inflation, and because teachers were not rewarded for previous changes to their jobs.
Are all teachers taking industrial action?
No. Primary teachers, represented by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, are not. The other second-level union, the Teachers' Union of Ireland, is planning to ballot for industrial action, but a result is not expected for several weeks.
So does ASTI want 30 per cent on top of what everyone is getting in PPF?
No, teachers will be paid just over 19 per cent under the PPF regardless, but are looking for about 11 per cent more. But they want it now.
Why 30 per cent?
The figure came from the floor at a meeting of the ASTI's central executive council earlier this year in Dublin. Until then the union had not agreed a precise figure. The leadership regarded 30 per cent as an opening position for negotiations but subsequently it became copper-fastened.
What has the Government offered?
The Government offered them PPF and the chance to make an additional claim to the benchmarking body, set up under PPF.
What is this benchmarking body?
This body, chaired by a High Court judge, Mr Justice Quirke, will compare public and private sector wages. Groups like teachers will be able to ask the body for more money by pointing to extra work they are doing or will do in the future.
Are teachers certain to get a big pay rise from this body and when will they get it?
There is no certainty and the body has yet to hold a meeting, but most observers believe teachers will get some kind of rise. The Minister of State at the Department of Education, Mr Willie O'Dea, expects teachers to get at least 5 per cent. The original intention was that the body would deliver its findings by September 2002, but the Minister, Dr Woods, hinted yesterday it could be brought forward to June.
How well are second-level teachers paid?
Honours graduates starting in a permanent position get £20,636 and can earn up to £34,821 after 25 years. Teachers can also apply for posts of responsibility which provide additional money. The first one of these is a special duties teacher. This provides an allowance of about £2,000 a year.
The next post is assistant principal with an allowance of about £4,500. For this a teacher is expected to act as a year head or organise the school timetable. The next post is deputy principal, with a sliding scale of allowances from about £2,000 to £12,452. A person taking this post is expected to share a number of tasks with the principal.
Principals earn considerably more. A principal of a medium-sized school is paid £50,026, although for smaller schools the salary would be about £45,000. Open competition is used to select principals, although in most schools the posts of responsibility are given to the most senior candidate. In comprehensive/community and vocational schools, seniority is only one of the factors taken into account.
But £34,821 seems a good salary, and there is always the chance to become a principal.
It can take a long time to reach these levels. The ASTI says it takes its members 25 years to reach £34,821. To become a principal also takes a long time, and there can be a large number of applications, including from outside the school.
But teachers have job security.
That's an understatement. According to Department of Education figures, only two teachers were dismissed in the school year 1999-2000. Over the past six years seven teachers were dismissed, six for "misconduct" or "unfitness to teach". While these figures are small, many teachers leave the profession because of "professional difficulties" under an early-retirement scheme operated by the Department. About 133 teachers took this option in the last two years.
What about long holidays and other "perks"?
Teachers in Ireland get some of the longest holidays in the industrialised world, according to the OECD's Education At A Glance report, published earlier this year. There are few other perks, although some teachers can earn significant sums giving grinds in private colleges.
Is the performance of teachers assessed or examined?
Boards of management assess their teachers' performances, but there is little external assessment. Department examiners are entitled to visit classes, but many teachers go uninspected for years.
Teachers claim the ultimate form of assessment comes through the exam system, but parents are not able to compare exam results between different schools because the Department refuses to release them.
Parents also have no right to see the exam results achieved by individual teachers. Parents will also have no right to see reports compiled as part of the new inspection system due to come into schools shortly.