THE BIG ISSUE at the Teachers Union of Ireland congress in Dublin will be pay - or, more specifically, how the teachers are going to catch up with other public sector workers in the next national agreement. TUI members share their fellow teachers' unhappiness about how nurses, gardai and prison officers were able to get more out of the Programme for Competitiveness and Work (PCW)in the mid-1990s by not settling early, unlike the teacher unions.
The emergency motion on pay, agreed by the executives of the INTO, ASTI and TUI, will be taken on Thursday afternoon. This will mandate the three union leaderships to pursue a claim in the next round of national agreement negotiations based on three issues: the gap that has opened between teachers and other public-sector workers; the bonuses and profit-sharing schemes enjoyed by private-sector workers since the PCW; and the extra responsibilities on teachers brought about by the Education Act.
However the TUI executive will first have to endure what promises to be a fiery debate on pay on Tuesday, which may lead to its freedom of action being restricted by a congress instruction on the productivity element of any new pay deal.
Another controversial issue will be school inspection. Last December the executive decided that changed circumstances meant it could go against a 1998 congress motion ruling out any TUI co-operation with a Department of Education pilot scheme to test out "Whole School Evaluation" in 12 schools. TUI members ended up participating in two schools. There are several strongly worded motions condemning the executive for their action.
Somewhat surprisingly, there are also motions down condemning the executive for its support for a Teaching Council, and demanding a ballot of the membership before it co-operates with the proposed teachers' professional body.
The establishment of such a council has been a long-standing demand of the other two teacher unions.
Another issue which will generate some heat is the composition of the new VECs to be put in place after the local government elections in June. The Minister for Education has said the new legislation laying down a statutory right to two teacher representatives on VECs will not be ready in time, and therefore the old-style VECs will have to be reconstituted temporarily, with teachers' representation introduced retrospectively.
The TUI wants to see the "heads" of the Vocational Education Amendment Act this week, including a clear commitment on statutory teachers representation. If it does not, it will threaten industrial action over the issue.
The union will also raise the latest version of its long-standing claim for those teaching Post-Leaving Certificate courses to pay and conditions comparable to third-level teachers. TUI general secretary Jim Dorney feels particularly strongly that an independent facilitator needs to be appointed to bring some equity to an often chaotic area where student numbers and, as a result, TUI members' teaching and administrative burdens have soared in recent years.
