The position of Mr Charlie Lennon as ASTI general secretary is under intense pressure after a move by delegates to the annual conference in Limerick to review his performance, writes Sean Flynn, Education Editor.
Today a closed session of the ASTI Central Executive Council will decide on whether to proceed with the review. After two days of relative calm, the atmosphere at the conference turned rancorous yesterday as the bitter, personalised divisions between some members were again exposed and there were unruly scenes as the emergency motion, calling for the review, which was not on the original agenda, was tabled.
Mr Lennon refused to comment on the apparent attempt to remove him last night. Amid the continued turmoil, the union's national organiser, Mr Noel Buckley, resigned, due he said to the union's failure to move forward and its continued obsession with the fall-out from its troubled pay campaign.
"I am not interested in scoring political points but unless we engage in serious reflection and look forward with a vision of where we want to go we will end up in self-destruct mode," he added.
The move to review Mr Lennon's performance, which reflects the continuing bitter internal divisions, comes at the end of the troubled pay campaign. Many in the union blame Mr Lennon for the union's failure to achieve the 30 per cent pay increase it was demanding. But the Lennon camp blames what they call a hard-line faction who refused to take his advice.
Mr Lennon is a full-time paid official and has been general secretary for over a decade. In the past three years a chasm has opened between the full-time staff and those elected by members to senior union positions. There was a deep divide between Mr Lennon and the former ASTI president, Ms Bernadine O'Sullivan, one of the main driving forces behind the 30 per cent pay campaign. The motion called for a review of the role and performance of the general secretary. The sponsors said that efforts over three months to open the debate has been frustrated by the leadership. Over 120 delegates signed a petition demanding that the motion be taken.
A wide-ranging review of internal finances by the ASTI treasurer, Ms Patricia Wroe, will also be considered today. Ms Wroe has been investigating alleged financial irregularities in the payment of expenses and other items to head office staff. Today's meeting will decide whether to pay a tax liability of over €100,000, which she believes is due to the Revenue. For now, Ms Wroe has suspended payment of some expense claims until all matters are resolved.
Mr Lennon vehemently opposed the ASTI decision to leave the partnership process. In contrast to elected officials of the union, he was also broadly supportive of the benchmarking pay process. Mr Lennon has been the public face of the ASTI campaign. He articulated the case for the 30 per cent pay campaign and his union's opposition to benchmarking.