ASTI says it has received €280,000 from TUI in settlement over ‘poaching’ row

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) says it has received €280,000 from the rival Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) in compensation as a settlement to a dispute over “poaching” of members.

The payment was aimed at bringing to an end a row which centred around a complaint made by the ASTI that more than 1,000 of its members were recruited by the TUI while it was involved in a dispute with the government in 2017.

The development comes just weeks before the teachers’ annual Easter conferences, when unions seek to provide a united front in protecting teachers’ interests.

The ASTI’s latest journal, Astir, features the image of a cheque from the TUI for €280,000 on its front cover.

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An accompanying article goes on to describe the row as “one of the most wretched events in Irish trade union history” and says the settlement draws a line under “what has to be the most unjustifiable actions ever taken by the TUI”.

The TUI, however, has previously said the controversy relates to an "inadvertent breach" of Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) rules on its part.

A spokesman for TUI said on Friday: “An Irish Congress of Trade Unions process is ongoing regarding these and related matters and, out of respect for that process, we will not be making further comment at this time

Complaint

The ASTI is understood to have initially sought compensation of about €6 million based on the loss of subscription income from teachers who left to join the TUI.

On foot of the complaint a disputes committee established by ICTU – the umbrella organisation for the trade union movement – found in favour of the ASTI. A subsequent appeal by the TUI was rejected.

ICTU subsequently recommend that the TUI should make a payment of €279,798.75 to the ASTI.

The members concerned were also informed they had been recruited in breach of trade union rules and they could return to the ASTI.

It is understood that of the 1,059 teachers who originally left to join the TUI, just 90 rejoined the ASTI and more than 900 did not.

A separate complaint from the ASTI about the TUI regarding representation rights in particular types of schools is still outstanding.

The ASTI’s loss of membership occurred during its dispute with the government in 2017 when members lost thousands of euro in frozen pay and loss of payment for supervision duties due to its “repudiation” of the then Lansdowne Road pay deal.

The TUI remained inside the pay deal and its members were unaffected by financial penalties.

The ASTI is understood to have made further complaints to ICTU about the TUI over its continued recruitment of new members in voluntary secondary schools.

These schools were once almost exclusively the preserve of the ASTI, however, the TUI has been attracting members in this sector over recent years.